20h (edited) • 🦋Wildlife
Pollinator Heaven
My sister lives in Northern California and is enjoying her sunflowers she started last year from harvested seeds. Today, she was blessed with a visit from a a Valley Carpenter Bee (Xylocopa varipuncta) and shared a personal video with me. She gave me permission to share it with the Empowering Animals community.
If you don't know about this beauty, here are some fascinating busy bee facts I learned.
🐝This large black bee, is often seen in California Central Valley.
🐝The Valley Carpenter Bee is the state’s largest native bee.
🐝Females are solid shiny black with dark wings and can grow close to an inch long, which is why people often mistake them for bumblebees.
🐝The males look completely different. They are fuzzy golden blond with beautiful green eyes.
🐝 They are solitary bees and do not live in hives like honeybees.
🐝 They are important pollinators for gardens and native plants.
🐝They are sometimes called “nectar robbers” because they pierce the base of tubular flowers to steal nectar without always pollinating the flower.
🐝 They nest by drilling perfectly round holes into unpainted or decaying wood like fence posts and old trees.
🐝 The males cannot sting at all. The females can sting, but are very docile and rarely do unless seriously provoked.
🐝Unlike fuzzy bumblebees, carpenter bees have a smooth shiny abdomen.
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Pollinator Heaven
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