#carpenter bees

carpenter bees can be such a pain in the ass to get close to that finding one that's dying, dead or just plain sleepy is always a big event. this male Xylocopa violacea was very feisty, but he wasn't using his wings at all so i got a nice look at all their fancy colors that are usually not visible when they're furiously beating to keep a large loud cylinder afloat in the air

Xylocopa sonorina, commonly known as the teddy bear bee or the valley carpenter bee, is an unusual species that can be found in the western United States, Mexico, and parts of the South Pacific. This is one of the largest bees in North America, measuring up to 26mm (about 1 inch) long, which is roughly the size of a paperclip. Its eggs are also among the largest insect eggs in the world, measuring up to 15mm long.

Above: Xylocopa sonorina

These are solitary bees, meaning that they don't form colonies or live together in hives. The females occassionally engage in facultative sociality (living in small, loose-knit communities that benefit from one another) but each bee still occupies her own private burrow/nest. Each nest is created by excavating a small tunnel into a tree, telephone pole, fence or other wooden structure.

Above: male teddy bear bees

The males have a very distinctive appearance -- their eyes are bright green, and their bodies are covered in thick, golden-orange "fur" (which is actually composed of hair-like structures known as setae). The females look totally different, with black bodies, dark eyes, and a dark metallic sheen on their wings.

Above: a male teddy bear bee is depicted on the left, and a female of the same species is shown on the right

The males are completely harmless, as they lack the ability to sting. The females can sting, but they rarely sting humans unless their nests are directly threatened.

Xylocopa sonorina is not the world's only teddy bear bee -- that nickname is also shared by Amegilla bombiformis, which is another species of solitary bee that can be found only in Australia. Amegilla bombiformis is covered in a similar layer of brownish-orange "fur," but its body is much smaller and more compact.

Above: the Australian teddy bear bee, Amegilla bombiformis

Sources & More Info:

Bug Guide: Xylocopa sonorina

Mount Diablo Interpretive Association: Xylocopa sonorina

Biodiversity Data Journal: Xylocopa sonorina from Canada, with Comments on Taxonomy

Royal Society Publishing: Social Consequences of Energetically Costly Nest Construction in a Facultatively Social Bee

Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution: Fluid Nest Membership Drives Variable Relatedness in Groups of a Facultatively Social Bee

beautiful carpenter bee from my garden (likely Xylocopa violacea)

[PHOTOS TAKEN: MARCH 1ST, 2026 | Image IDs: Two photos of a red, black, and yellow metric paper wasp and a black and yellow (male) eastern carpenter bee with greenish eyes feeding from and pollinating some white, yellow, and green plum tree flowers, right in front of each other /End IDs.]

Peace and love on planet earth <3 (Moments later these two bumped antennae and got really scared and both flew away XD). Plus! Here's more if that bee!

Eastern Sierra Bush Lupine & Carpenter Bees (Explored)

In the Alabama Hills of the Eastern Sierra, dense patches of fragrant bush lupine attracted hungry carpenter bees, marked by their shiny black appearance with their little bodies covered in yellow pollen.