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Xylocopa Virginica
''Xylocopa virginica'', sometimes referred to as the eastern carpenter bee, extends through the eastern United States and into Canada. They are Sympatry, sympatric with ''Xylocopa micans'' in much of southeastern United States. They nest in various types of wood and eat pollen and nectar. In ''X. virginica'', dominant females do not focus solely on egg-laying, as in other bee species considered to have "queens". Instead, dominant ''X. virginica'' females are responsible for a full gamut of activities including reproduction, foraging, and nest construction, whereas subordinate bees may engage in little activity outside of guarding the nest. Description and identification The bee is similar in size to bumblebees, but has a glossy, mostly black body with a slight metallic purple tint. ''X. virginica'' males and females have generally the same mass, but can be differentiated visually by the male's longer body and the female's wider head. The males also have a white spot on their face. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Salvia
''Salvia'' () is the largest genus of plants in the sage family Lamiaceae, with nearly 1000 species of shrubs, herbaceous plant, herbaceous perennial plant, perennials, and annual plant, annuals. Within the Lamiaceae, ''Salvia'' is part of the tribe Mentheae within the subfamily Nepetoideae. One of several genera commonly referred to as sage, it includes two widely used herbs, ''Salvia officinalis'' (common sage, or just "sage") and ''Salvia rosmarinus'' (rosemary, formerly ''Rosmarinus officinalis''). The genus is distributed throughout the Old World and the Americas (over 900 total species), with three distinct regions of diversity: Central America and South America (approximately 600 species); Central Asia and the Mediterranean (250 species); Eastern Asia (90 species). Etymology The name ''Salvia'' derives from Latin (sage), from (safe, secure, healthy), an adjective related to (health, well-being, prosperity or salvation), and (to feel healthy, to heal). Pliny the Eld ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bamboo
Bamboos are a diverse group of evergreen perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family. The origin of the word "bamboo" is uncertain, but it probably comes from the Dutch or Portuguese language, which originally borrowed it from Malay or Kannada. In bamboo, as in other grasses, the internodal regions of the stem are usually hollow and the vascular bundles in the cross-section are scattered throughout the stem instead of in a cylindrical arrangement. The dicotyledonous woody xylem is also absent. The absence of secondary growth wood causes the stems of monocots, including the palms and large bamboos, to be columnar rather than tapering. Bamboos include some of the fastest-growing plants in the world, due to a unique rhizome-dependent system. Certain species of bamboo can grow within a 24-hour period, at a rate of almost an hour (equivalent to 1 mm every 90 seco ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Xylocopa Virginica Male Face
Carpenter bees are species in the genus ''Xylocopa'' of the subfamily Xylocopinae. The genus includes some 500 bees in 31 subgenera. The common name "carpenter bee" derives from their nesting behavior; nearly all species burrow into hard plant material such as dead wood or bamboo. The main exceptions are species in the subgenus '' Proxylocopa''; they dig nesting tunnels in suitable soil. Etymology The French entomologist Pierre André Latreille described the genus in 1802. He derived the name from the Ancient Greek ''xylokopos''/ξυλοκὀπος "wood-cutter". Characteristics Many species in this enormous genus are difficult to tell apart; most species are all black, or primarily black with some yellow or white pubescence. Some differ only in subtle morphological features, such as details of the male genitalia. Males of some species differ confusingly from the females, being covered in greenish-yellow fur. The confusion of species arises particularly in the common names; ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pollination
Pollination is the transfer of pollen from an anther of a plant to the stigma of a plant, later enabling fertilisation and the production of seeds, most often by an animal or by wind. Pollinating agents can be animals such as insects, birds, and bats; water; wind; and even plants themselves, when self-pollination occurs within a closed flower. Pollination often occurs within a species. When pollination occurs between species, it can produce hybrid offspring in nature and in plant breeding work. In angiosperms, after the pollen grain (gametophyte) has landed on the stigma, it germinates and develops a pollen tube which grows down the style until it reaches an ovary. Its two gametes travel down the tube to where the gametophyte(s) containing the female gametes are held within the carpel. After entering an ovum cell through the micropyle, one male nucleus fuses with the polar bodies to produce the endosperm tissues, while the other fuses with the ovule to produce the embr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anthers
The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filament and an anther which contains ''microsporangia''. Most commonly anthers are two-lobed and are attached to the filament either at the base or in the middle area of the anther. The sterile tissue between the lobes is called the connective, an extension of the filament containing conducting strands. It can be seen as an extension on the dorsal side of the anther. A pollen grain develops from a microspore in the microsporangium and contains the male gametophyte. The stamens in a flower are collectively called the androecium. The androecium can consist of as few as one-half stamen (i.e. a single locule) as in '' Canna'' species or as many as 3,482 stamens which have been counted in the saguaro (''Carnegiea gigantea''). The androecium in var ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nectar Robbing
Nectar robbing is a foraging behavior utilized by some organisms that feed on floral nectar, carried out by feeding from holes bitten in flowers, rather than by entering through the flowers' natural openings. "Nectar robbers" usually feed in this way, avoiding contact with the floral reproductive structures, and therefore do not facilitate plant reproduction via pollination. Because many species that act as pollinators also act as nectar robbers, nectar robbing is considered to be a form of exploitation of plant-pollinator mutualism. While there is variation in the dependency on nectar for robber species, most species rob facultatively. Nectar robbers vary greatly in species diversity and include species of carpenter bees, bumblebees, stingless ''Trigona'' bees, solitary bees, wasps, ants, hummingbirds, and some passerine birds, including flowerpiercers. Nectar robbing mammals include a fruit bat and Swinhoe's striped squirrel, which robs nectar from the ginger plant. History R ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Xylocopa Virginica Pollinia
Carpenter bees are species in the genus ''Xylocopa'' of the subfamily Xylocopinae. The genus includes some 500 bees in 31 subgenera. The common name "carpenter bee" derives from their nesting behavior; nearly all species burrow into hard plant material such as dead wood or bamboo. The main exceptions are species in the subgenus ''Proxylocopa''; they dig nesting tunnels in suitable soil. Etymology The French entomologist Pierre André Latreille described the genus in 1802. He derived the name from the Ancient Greek ''xylokopos''/ξυλοκὀπος "wood-cutter". Characteristics Many species in this enormous genus are difficult to tell apart; most species are all black, or primarily black with some yellow or white pubescence. Some differ only in subtle morphological features, such as details of the male genitalia. Males of some species differ confusingly from the females, being covered in greenish-yellow fur. The confusion of species arises particularly in the common names; i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
