Ordinary bee (latch. Xylocopa valga). Modern science is known for more than a million species of various insects. They live everywhere. The famous writer and traveler Vasily Peskov even called them the owners of the Earth. Among insects there are many flying class representatives. They are useful or harmful, harmless or dangerous. Bees are one of the most useful insects. They pollinate plants and produce honey rich in vitamins. However, there are completely different bees.
Description
An ordinary bee belongs to the family of bee detachment. She does not look like honey bees neither the appearance nor the way of life. This single bee does not live in a swarm of his own kind and prefers a free existence. Man failed to tame it to get honey.
Appearance
The body length of the carpenter is 20-28 mm. Moreover, females are larger than males. Insect legs are covered with a fluff. The jaws are powerful. The bee’s head is large, in width is comparable to the body. The bee is completely black, with the exception of the wings. They have a purple-blue shade and cropped edges. Also violet hairs grow throughout the body.
Labor
As a dwelling and nests, a bee-stump is chosen for himself well-heated wood: dead trunks of trees affected by mushrooms, pillars, wooden walls. There she gnaws a complex branched network of moves up to 40 cm long. In such hard work, strong jaws and a durable chitin skull help her a lot. Formed sawdust paste pushes out with the help of hind legs. Such a construction process gave the insect name.
A female of the species is completely engaged in the nest, as the male dies after fertilization. In the strokes built in wood, the bee makes cells. In them, she lays eggs and seals them with a partition of saliva and wood sawdust. For several weeks, the mother protects the nest, after which she flies out of it for good. During the year, adults are formed from eggs. In the spring they rush partitions and fly away. One of the females remains in the native nest, repeating the cycle of dedication. The nest will not be empty while the wood is intact.
The bee-stroke lives in the larger territory of the Palearctic region, except for its northern part. You can meet this species in Central and Western Europe, Transcaucasia, in the Middle East, in the regions of Central Asia and Mongolia. The insect prefers to the life of the edge of deciduous forests, foreststeppe and steppe zones, where it settles in dry. In cities and villages of a bee, you can find in abandoned wooden buildings and supports of power lines.
Food
Like other bee representatives, the carpenter feeds on flower pollen. Preference gives to plants of families legumes and roseflowers. The food is very selective. Can sort out a large number of plants, overcoming huge distances in the search for suitable colors. From a flower nectar, the bee makes a nutritious substrate for future larvae. She leaves it in every cell of the nest.
Interesting Facts
Bee-plot-peace-loving insect. She can use a poisonous sting for selfdefense or guarding the future offspring. Do not touch its nest so as not to cause bee anger.
The bee can become the food of insectivorous birds, frogs, spiders. But thanks to large size and durable dwelling, the carpenter rarely becomes their prey.
The bee-stump is one of the most ancient insects of the Earth. It appeared about 100 million years ago and is a living relic.
This type of bee is listed in the Red Book of Eurasia. Reducing the number is associated with deforestation, applying paintwork and canning substances to the surface of wooden pillars and buildings. The list of security measures includes the identification of bee nests, their preservation, as well as a ban on the delay of these rare insects.
