''Ceratina cyanea'', common name blue carpenter bee, is a species of bee belonging to the family

Apidae Apidae is the largest family within the superfamily Apoidea, containing at least 5700 species of bees. The family includes some of the most commonly seen bees, including bumblebees and honey bees, but also includes stingless bees (also used for ...

, subfamily

Xylocopinae The subfamily Xylocopinae (family Apidae) occurs worldwide, and includes the large carpenter bees (tribe Xylocopini), the small carpenter bees (tribe Ceratinini), the allodapine bees (tribe Allodapini), and the relictual genus ''Manuelia'' (trib ...

Distribution

This species is present in most of Western

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

, in North West

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

and in the eastern

Palearctic realm The Palearctic or Palaearctic is the largest of the eight biogeographic realms of the Earth. It stretches across all of Eurasia north of the foothills of the Himalayas, and North Africa. The realm consists of several bioregions: the Euro-Sib ...

(excluding China). Global species
/ref>

Habitat

This undemanding species colonize both dry habitats and wetlands. It inhabits forest edges, thickets and gardens.

Description

''Ceratina cyanea'' can reach a length of (females) and (males).
Head, chest and abdomen show a metallic blue colour.British Journal of Entomology and Natural History - Volume 8 - 1995
/ref> These bees have three submarginal cells in forewings,John L. Capinera - Encyclopedia of Entomology
/ref> club-shaped antennae and a long thin tongue. The scutellum is densely punctured. The seventh tergite has a deep saddle and ends in two points.
Révision des Xylocopinae (Hymenoptera : Apidae) de France et de BelgiqueFelix Amiet, M. Herrmann, A. Müller, R. Neumeyer: Fauna Helvetica 20: Apidae 5. Centre Suisse de Cartographie de la Faune, 2007

Biology

The blue carpenter bees fly from mid-March to mid-October, collecting pollen at various families of plants, especially knapweed (''

Centaurea ''Centaurea'' () is a genus of over 700 species of herbaceous thistle-like flowering plants in the family Asteraceae. Members of the genus are found only north of the equator, mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere; the Middle East and surrounding reg ...

''), yellow composites (

Asteraceae The family Asteraceae, alternatively Compositae, consists of over 32,000 known species of flowering plants in over 1,900 genera within the order Asterales. Commonly referred to as the aster, daisy, composite, or sunflower family, Compositae w ...

) and '' Lotus'' ( Fabaceae).Essex Field Club
/ref> Females dig the nest extracting the soft tissue that fills the cavities of the vertical or slanted dry plant stems and small branches, such as thistles, blackberries (''

Rubus ''Rubus'' is a large and diverse genus of flowering plants in the rose family, Rosaceae, subfamily Rosoideae, with over 1,350 species. Raspberries, blackberries, and dewberries are common, widely distributed members of the genus. Most of the ...

'' species), elderberries (''

Sambucus ''Sambucus'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Adoxaceae. The various species are commonly called elder or elderberry. The genus was formerly placed in the honeysuckle family, Caprifoliaceae, but was reclassified as Adoxaceae due to ge ...

'' species) and roses. Then they provide the cells with a mixture of regurgitated nectar and pollen to feed the larvae. Adult males and females overwinter inside their cells into the stems. Often several insects spend the winter together.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q149149 cyanea Hymenoptera of Europe Insects described in 1802