The Carpenter Bees Of Florida I. Xylocopa

In America north of Mexico the subfamily Xylocopinae is composed of 2 genera, Ceratina (small carpenter bees) and Xylocopa (large carpenter bees). These bees obtain their common name from their nesting habits: small carpenter bees excavate tunnels in pithy stems of various bushes; large carpenter bees chew nesting galleries in solid wood or in stumps, logs, or dead branches of trees (Hurd and Moure, 1963). The latter bees may become economic pests if nesting takes place in structural timbers, fence posts, wooden water tanks, or the like. The genus Ceratina has 21 species in America north of Mexico of which 2 occur in Florida (Daly, 1973), and will be treated in a forthcoming Entomology Circular. Xylocopa has 7 species in America north of Mexico, 2 of which occur in Florida.