Stats

Lifespan: About 1 year
Size: Large
Diet: Herbivore
Activity: Diurnal
Social: Solitary
Biome: Temperate forest
Range: North America
Movement: Flight
Breeding: Egg-laying
Defense: Venom
Status: Common

About

A robust wood-boring bee that excavates perfectly circular nesting tunnels in bare lumber with its powerful mandibles. Males have a distinctive yellow face patch and are stingless, while the shiny jet-black abdomen sets both sexes apart from fuzzy bumblebees.

Life cycle

1.
egg
A small egg is laid on or near the larval food source and hatches within days or weeks.
2.
juvenile
An immature insect feeds and molts, growing through successive instars.
3.
subadult
A near-adult insect has wing buds or near-mature form, one molt away from full size.
4.
adult
Fully grown, with full wings and adult coloration.

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Taxonomy

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Apidae
Genus: Xylocopa
Species: Xylocopa virginica