I saw several of these insects flying around madly yesterday. I actually don't even know if this is a bee, and have never seen anything like them before. I took these photos near a river in Campbell, CA. Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.
Here's a slightly different angle:
Last shot:
Hey, Sunny, I can't help you with the ID, but have to say they're really good shots. All that practice with the Hummingbirds.
Those are awesome shots. It looks like Xylocopa varipuncta, carpenter bees, this is a male. I've seen many in Southern California. They're very large and the females are dark brown/black color. The ones I've encountered like to make their homes in the cracked forward facing flashing beams that are common in many of the tract homes in Orange County. See http://tinyurl.com/chzg5y and http://nathistoc.bio.uci.edu/hymenopt/Xylocopa.htm for details.
This message was edited Apr 13, 2009 4:57 PM
LOL thanks Margaret, you're right, I think those babies made me a bit quicker ;-). BTW, as of today, the hummingbird saga continues...I totally can't believe it!
Drrex, that's it! Thank you so much for the ID! I'd seen the females around in the garden, but had no idea that the males were a completely different color like that...amazing. BTW, I saw this little female near the male:
Okay, maybe "little" was not the right description, but she was rather cute. Thanks again to both of you :-)
This message was edited Apr 19, 2009 10:40 AM
Yes, Sunny, I've just come from reading about you scaling the ivy to get the pix of the new nest.
