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Bees of Zihuatanejo

EPIFAMILY ANTHOPHILA

-Animals (Kingdom Animalia)

-Arthropods (Phylum Arthropoda)

-Hexapods (Subphylum Hexapoda)

-Insects (Class Insecta)

-Winged and Once-winged Insects (Subclass Pterygota)

-Ants, Bees, Wasps, and Sawflies (Order Hymenoptera)

-Narrow-waisted Wasps, Ants, and Bees (Suborder Apocrita)

-Ants, Bees, and Stinging Wasps (Infraorder Aculeata)

-Bees and Apoid Wasps (Superfamily Apoidea)

-Bees (Epifamily Anthophila)

-​Honey Bees, Bumble Bees, and Allies (Family Apidae)

-Carpenter Bees (Subfamily Xylocopinae)

-Large Carpenter Bees (Tribe Xylocopini)

-Large Carpenter Bees (Genus Xylocopa)

-Xylocopa Neoxylocopa


Known for their impressive size and metallic coloration, Neoxylocopa carpenter bees are primarily found in tropical and subtropical regions. Like other carpenter bees, they are distinguished by their unique nesting behavior, which involves boring into wood. These carpenter bees are large, often reaching up to 25 mm or more in length, making them one of the larger carpenter bee groups. Neoxylocopa bees create nesting tunnels in wood. However, they often prefer dead wood or softer types, and they do not consume the wood. Instead, they carve out chambers within the wood to rear their young.

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Neoxylocopa Carpenter Bees

Neoxylocopa (Subgenus)

Range

  • The subgenus Neoxylocopa occurs from the southern United States through Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, and throughout much of South America to Argentina.

  • Several species are found throughout Mexico, including the Pacific coast of Guerrero and the Zihuatanejo region.

  • Most diverse in tropical and subtropical regions.

Habitat

  • Inhabits tropical dry forests, tropical rainforests, woodland edges, mangroves, secondary forests, orchards, gardens, parks, and agricultural areas.

  • Females nest by excavating tunnels in dead wood, bamboo, fence posts, tree branches, wooden beams, and other untreated timber.

  • Adults commonly visit a wide variety of flowering plants in open, sunny habitats.

Behaviour

  • Primarily solitary, although females may share a nest entrance or reuse existing tunnels over successive generations.

  • Active during the day, collecting pollen and nectar from many different flowering plants.

  • Females excavate long tunnels in wood, partitioning them into brood cells with walls of chewed wood pulp.

  • Strong, fast fliers capable of travelling several kilometres while foraging.

  • Generally non-aggressive; females can sting but rarely do unless handled, while males lack a sting and often hover near nests to defend territories.

Size

  • Body length: 20–35 mm (0.8–1.4 in), depending on the species.

  • Among the largest native bees in the Americas.

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