GREEN-WINGED BAMBOO-CARPENTER BEE

GREEN-WINGED BAMBOO-CARPENTER BEE Some of these lovely big shiny bees are difficult to tell apart to individual species level, with most—like this one—being all, or primarily, black. Some differ only in subtle morphological features, such as details of the male genitalia, which also defines how they mate. This one is the largest we have in the territory; shiny, fully black in colour with fuscous metallic blue-green that can reflect purple in sunlight. Males can be lighter. These carpenter bees hibernate in their little nests during

the winter, and leave to mate in the spring.