LARGE CARPENTER BEES

• 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 (Genus Xylocopa)

​

Genus Xylocopa comprises the carpenter bees, a group of large, robust bees in the family Apidae found throughout tropical, subtropical, and temperate regions of the world. Carpenter bees are named for their habit of excavating nests in wood, bamboo, or other plant material using their powerful mandibles. Unlike termites, they do not consume the wood but tunnel into it to create galleries where they rear their young. Most Xylocopa species are solitary. These bees are typically black, metallic, or dark-coloured, and are among the largest bees in Zihuatanejo.