Blue carpenter bee
The blue carpenter bee is a big, fuzzy bee. The females have a bright blue hairy back that shines like a jewel, while the males are more brownish green. It is called a carpenter bee because it digs its home in wood.
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Fun facts
It chews tunnels into trees to make its nest, like a tiny carpenter with no tools.
Most of the time it lives alone, but sometimes a few bees share the same front door into the wood.
It makes bee bread from honey and pollen and puts it in a little wooden room. Then it lays its eggs on top, so the babies have food ready when they hatch.
The blue colour comes from a special colouring in its hairs that hides red light, so mostly blue light bounces back.
Most asked questions about Blue carpenter bee
?Where do blue carpenter bees live?
In Southeast Asia, India and southern China. It makes its nest by digging tunnels into trees.
?How big is a blue carpenter bee?
About 2.3 centimetres long, which is big for a bee.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Xylocopa caerulea
- Group
- Bees and bumblebees
- Family
- Apidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Hymenoptera > Apidae
- Lives on
- Asia
Where the facts come from
- Xylocopa caerulea (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
- Picture by dhfischer. CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons. The round sticker of this bug is cut from the same picture.
If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.
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