Xylocopa frontalis, also known by its common name ridge-browed carpenter, is a species of carpenter bee (genus Xylocopa).

Xylocopa frontalis
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Apidae
Genus: Xylocopa
Species:
X. frontalis
Binomial name
Xylocopa frontalis
(Olivier, 1789)
Map
Distribution     Native range

Description

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X. frontalis is part of a group of solitary bees called carpenter bees. X. frontalis is vital in the pollination of wild and cultivated large flowering plants.[1] X. fontalis choose their nesting places very carefully. A study was done to see how X. fontalis chose their nesting sites. They found that the nesting substrates and nesting sites exhibited a clumped spatial distribution. X. fontalis had a preferred substrate and built their nests primarily on those substrates. This shows that they carefully pick out their nesting sites rather than nesting where available.[2]

Ecology

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X. frontalis, together with Xylocopa grisescens are the main pollinators for Passiflora edulis, a tropical crop with significant economic value.[3]

References

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  1. ^ Breno M Freitas; Antonio Diego de Melo Bezerra; Cláudia Inês da Silva (March 2017). The Illustrated Natural History of a Pollinator: The Carpenter Bee Xylocopa frontalis (PDF) (in English and Portuguese). ISBN 978-85-69982-01-2. Wikidata Q119788523.
  2. ^ Silva, Fabiana O. Da; Viana, Blandina F. (Oct 2002). "Distribuição de Ninhos de Abelhas Xylocopa (Hymenoptera: Apidae) em uma Área de Dunas Litorâneas". Neotropical Entomology (in Portuguese). 31: 661–664. doi:10.1590/S1519-566X2002000400025. ISSN 1519-566X.
  3. ^ Antonio Diego M. Bezerra; Alípio J.S. Pacheco Filho; Isac G.A. Bomfim; Guy Smagghe; Breno M. Freitas (February 2019). "Agricultural area losses and pollinator mismatch due to climate changes endanger passion fruit production in the Neotropics". Agricultural Systems. 169: 49–57. doi:10.1016/J.AGSY.2018.12.002. ISSN 0308-521X. Wikidata Q119789023.