page_title: Eastern carpenter bee
section_title: Division of labor among the sexes
hierarchical_section_title: Eastern carpenter bee / Behavior / Division of labor among the sexes
caption_attribution_description: English: Carpenter bee (Xylocopa virginica) carrying pollinia from milkweed flowers. Peace Valley Nature Center, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, USA. https://bugguide.net/node/view/13049
context_page_description: Xylocopa virginica, more commonly known as the eastern carpenter bee, extends through the eastern United States and into Canada. They nest in various types of wood and eat pollen and nectar. The eastern carpenter bee is similar to most other bee species in that it does not have a queen; in Xylocopa virginica, females are responsible for reproduction, foraging, and nest construction, though they may sometimes have help from their daughters. Xylocopa virginica is sympatric with Xylocopa micans in the southeastern United States.
context_section_description: Not all females do the same work in a social nest. This is evident based on the varying levels of wear on the wings and mandibles of females of various social standing. Although many nests have more than one female, there is a division of labor between the older and younger females.  During nesting time, only the older females are responsible for nesting duties such as digging, excavating the cells, lining the cells, collecting food, and ovipositing.  Evidence of this activity can be found in their worn mandibles.  Young females rarely leave the nest and guard the entrance while the older females work, resulting in unworn wings and mandibles in the younger females.  Additionally, X. virginica is the only known species in which one-year-old females cohabit the nest with two-year-old females that do all the labor.
  Males often have long period of hovering flying or fast pursuit of intruders while females flight activity is usually very directed, such as flights to flowers and food sites.  Larger females have an advantage because they can carry larger amounts of pollen or nectar back to the nest and can fly longer distances.
caption: Carpenter bee on milkweed (Asclepias) flower, carrying pollinia.
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