 |
|
A Carpenter bee,
Xylocopa caffra, foraging for nectar and pollen. Three
phoretic mites are visible protruding from a special cavity, called
an acarinarium, on her abdomen. The cavity has evolved specifically
to transport mites. The relationship is an example of a mutualism
that is of benefit to both the bee and the mite. The mites hitch a
ride from the nest the bee developed in to any new nests that she
constructs for her off-spring. The mites feed on fungi in the nest
keeping it away from the pollen provisions and her larva.
|
 |
 |
Distribution
|
Angola, Botswana, Cameroun, Central African Republic,
Comoro Islands, Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia,
Guinea, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Seychelles, Somalia,
South Africa, Namibia, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe. |
Biology
|
Recorded visiting
flowers of:
Acacia caffra, Acacia karroo, Adenolobus pechuelii, Agave sp.,
Allium sp., Aloe sp., Asclepias buchenaviana, Aspalathus
cordata, Aspalathus linearis, Aspalathus spinescens, Aspalathus
vulnerans, Aspalathus sp., Asteraceae, Berkheya sp.,
Bougainvillea sp., Bauhinia purpurea, Blepharis capensis,
Calpurnia sp., Cassia didymobotrya, Cassia spectabilis,
Chenopodiaceae, Cleome angustifolia, Codon schenckii,
Eucalyptus sp., Grewia sp., Grewia occidentalis,
Herschelia graminifolia, Iridaceae sp., Liliaceae, Lebeckia
sericea, Lobostemon trichotomus, Lobostemon sp.,
Loganiaceae, Lycium sp., Lycopersicon esculentum, Maerua
schinzii, Medicago sativa, Mesembryanthemaceae, Monechma sp.,
Myrtaceae, Nicotiana glauca, Orpheum frutescens, Otoptera
burchellii, Papilionoideae, Podalyria microphylla, Polygala
pinifolia, Psoralea pinnata, Rafnia amplexicaulus, Rhus sp.,
Rubus sp., Ruschia sp., Salvia dentate, Satyrium
hallackii, Scaevola sp., Solanum sp.,
Solanaceae, Tipuana tipu, Tribulus sp., Trifolium sp.,
Vicia flava, Zea mays. Nests in: Aloe littoralis, Aloe marlothii,
Commiphora sp., Ficus sycomorus, Paranomus bracteolaris,
Phragmites australis, Pinus patula, Polygala leptophylla, Prosopis
chilensis, Protea sp., Salix babylonica,
Widdringtonia cedarbergensis.
Parasitized by: Anthrax badius,
Coelopencyrtus callainus, Dinogamasus braunsi, Dinogamasus
cockerelli, Hyperechia bifasciata, Hyperechia nigripennis,
Physocephala bimarginipennis, Sennertia sp., Synhoria hottentota. |
References
|
Eardley, C.D. 1983.
A taxonomic revision of the genus
Xylocopa Latreille (Hymenoptera:
Anthophoridae) in southern Africa.
Entomology Memoir,
Department of Agriculture,
Republic of South Africa
58: 67pp.
Eardley, C & Urban, R. 2010. Catalogue
of Afrotropical bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Apiformes).
Zootaxa 2455: 1-548.
Michener, C.D. 2000. The Bees of the World. Johns Hopkins
University Press. 953 pp. |
Credits
|
Photograph of living Xylocopa © Simon van Noort (Iziko Museums).
Photographs of preserved Xylocopa ©
Laurence Packer's website:
Bee Tribes of the World
|
|
