Bees are yellow and black. We have known this our whole lives. Whether they are bumblebees or honeybees, they are yellow and black… Right?

Well, not necessarily!

It turns out that there is another kind of bee and it is not made up of the color combination we all know and love. It is actually bright blue and it is so vibrant, it is understandably hard to believe!

They are called blue carpenter bees and they are mostly common in Southeast Asia, India and China.

Their color is representative of their identity and they can either be blue, green or purple.

They are also known as mining bees or boring wood bees.

These bees burrow in hardwood (cedar, cypress, redwood and pine) or bamboo as opposed to living in hives like other bees. They prefer their wood to be unpainted and seasoned. They can make a hole in wood that is up to 1.5 inches in diameter.

They either live alone or in very small social groups that only include essential bees like groups of moms and their daughters. They also love open-faced flowers, which they pollinate.

Blue bees hibernate during the winter and mate during the spring. When mating is complete, the fertilized female will then begin on a journey to find a hole in any natural wood or drill into the wood to create a space (called a “gallery”) where she can lay her eggs. The male does not help the female with raising the baby bees.

The carpenter bee averages about an inch in size, which doesn’t sound that big but, in the bee world, it is actually quite large. The carpenter bee is known for being large and overwhelming.

The more proper, scientific name of the Blue Carpenter Bee is Xylocopa caerulea. Xylocopa the first name represents its genus and caerulea represents its species.

Sometimes, the blue carpenter bee can look similar to bumblebees but if you are well-versed and have a good understanding of them, you will be able to spot the small differences. They have more distinct body parts.

Carpenter bees have larger mouths than many other bee species. The back end of their bodies are clear, black and shiny and the sides of their bellies are covered in fine, blue strands of hair.

The shape of their wings are long and narrow and the thorax part of their bodies is covered in dense, glossy light blue hairs. That is the part that mostly gives their bold blue color.

Male carpenter bees tend to be slightly more green and yellow in color as opposed to the females who are bright blue.

These bees have four life stages, which are similar to other species of Insecta class in Arthropoda phylum: egg, larva, pupa, adult. It takes just about 7 weeks for a Xylocopa bee to reach adulthood. This timing can fluctuate a bit though, depending on its surroundings and conditions.

While carpenter bees have their similarities to other bee species, they are also so fascinating! Who would have ever thought?

See a video of a blue carpenter bee alive in the flesh below.

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Source: Diply / Ranger Planet