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xylocopa_violacea


xylocopa_violacea
Photo Information
Copyright: Csaba Szucs (Csaba1981) (31)
Genre: Animals
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2004-07-08
Categories: Insects
Exposure: f/3.2, 1/80 seconds
More Photo Info: [view]
Photo Version: Original Version
Date Submitted: 2007-03-17 12:46
Viewed: 619
Points: 2
[Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note
I usually see carpenter bees flying very fast that's why it is not so easy to take a shot of them. This one knocked out itself a little and dropped to the ground where I finally took the picture.

Readily identified by its color, this handsome solitary bee flies in summer and autumn and again in spring, after hibernation. It is about 25 mm (approx. 1 in) long, glossy black all over, with sparse black hairs. The opaque wings are dark brown with a lilac-coloured sheen. Despite its fast flight and fearsome appearance, it is not aggressive and rarely stings.

Carpenter bees usually attack fairly solid wood (e.g. dead unrotted trees and tree-stumps, felled timber, fence posts, etc.). They sometimes tunnel into the timbers and beams of houses, barns and other buildings, and may cause considerable structural damage if left unchecked. Each bee excavates a large nest-tunnel, often over 30 cm (12 in) long, divided off into a number of separate cells by partitions of chewed wood chips. Each cell is stocked with a mass of nectar and pollen on which the female lays an egg. Like other solitary bees, when nesting is finished the female bee leaves her eggs and grubs to develop on their own, through to the next generation of adults.
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Critiques [Translate]

Hi, Csaba,

many thanks for your comments at my carpenter bee photo.

wow, I like your photo of carpenter bee a lot b'cos you have showed the energetic side of this bee. hahaha, it's like doing boxing or putting up some kung fu stance against the photographer. very well done. thanks for sharing.

chrs,
Man Yee

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