''Xylocopa rufitarsis'' is a species of

carpenter bee 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 m ...

native to

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

. It has been assigned to the subgenus ''Xylomelissa''. It was seen to visit flowers of a wide range of plants, many of them Fabaceae such as '' Acacia karroo'', ''

Aspalathus linearis Rooibos ( ; , meaning "red bush"), or ''Aspalathus linearis'', is a broom-like member of the plant family Fabaceae that grows in South Africa's fynbos biome. The leaves are used to make a herbal tea that is called rooibos (especially in ...

'', '' A. spinescens'', '' Calpurnia glabrata'', '' Lebeckia multiflora'', '' Lebeckia sericea'', peas (''

Pisum sativum The pea is most commonly the small spherical seed or the seed-pod of the flowering plant species ''Pisum sativum''. Each pod contains several peas, which can be green or yellow. Botanically, pea pods are fruit, since they contain seeds and d ...

'') and '' Tipuana tipu'', but also ''

Agave ''Agave'' (; ; ) is a genus of monocots native to the hot and arid regions of the Americas and the Caribbean, although some ''Agave'' species are also native to tropical areas of North America, such as Mexico. The genus is primarily known for ...

'' sp., '' Anchusa capensis'', '' Hermannia gariepina'', '' Lobostemon trichotomus'', ''

Moraea cookii ''Moraea'', the Cape tulips, is a genus of plants in the family Iridaceae, first described as a genus in 1758. The group is widespread across Africa, the Mediterranean, and central and southwestern Asia. The genus name is a tribute to the English ...

'', '' Populus'' sp., '' Prenia pallens'', '' Zygophyllum morgsana'', '' Salvia dentata'' and other Lamiaceae. Nests of been found in ''

Metalasia muricata ''Metalasia muricata'', commonly known as white bristle bush or blombos, is a hardy virgate or twiggy shrub with honey-scented flowers usually 2–4 m tall, woody with a rounded crown, and an important component of the coastal and mountain fynbos ...

'', '' Psoralea aphylla'' and ''

Pinus A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden ...

'' sp. They are parasitized by '' Anthrax badius''.

References

rufitarsis Hymenoptera of Africa Insects of South Africa Insects described in 1841 Taxa named by Amédée Louis Michel le Peletier {{Apidae-stub