The Black Carpenter Bee spotted on our Campus!
Our researchers have observed a strictly protected species of black bee on the campus of the Faculty of Biological Sciences at the University of Wrocław. It is the first ever occurrence of the insect in this country region!
The Black Carpenter Bee (Xylocopa valga) is strictly protected in Poland. Unlike its relative, the Violet Carpenter Bee (Xylocopa violacea), it occurs very rarely in Poland. In our country, The Black Carpenter Bee has been observed in places like the vicinity of Sanok, the Polesie region, Białowieża, Ojców National Park, and the Bieszczady Mountains.
Now our scientists have discovered a new place of this species. “It’s in Lower Silesia, more precisely in Wroclaw, and to be exact, on our campus,” says Professor Marcin Kadej from the Department of Invertebrate Biology, Evolution and Conservation, the Faculty of Biological Sciences at the UWr.
During the summer, Grzegorz Lewek, a student of Environmental Management, spotted two individuals flying over a broken linden tree trunk on the campus of the Faculty of Biological Sciences at ul. Przybyszewskiego.
Mr. Lewek, together with his tutor, professor Kadej, have just published an article about this discovery. They described the first observation of the Black Carpenter Bee in Wrocław and Lower Silesia here:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/386170623_Stanowisko_zadrzechni_czarnorogiej_Xylocopa_valga_Gerstaecker_1872_Hymenoptera_Apidae_Xylocopinae_na_Dolnym_Slasku_Record_of_Xylocopa_valga_Gerstaecker_1872_Hymenoptera_Apidae_Xylocopinae_in_Lower_Sil
Our student has already published two faunistic works. “Another three are under review, and we are currently working on more projects together,” says professor Kadej, praising his student. He emphasizes that it is the result of the tutoring program implemented at the Faculty of Biological Sciences.
Characteristics of the Black Carpenter Bee
The Black Carpenter Bee is a thermophilic species. It prefers the skirts of old forests with many snags (dead standing trees), and coarse woody debris (fallen dead trees). It also inhabits steep slope hills covered with shrubbery and rocky walls.
It usually builds nests in dead trees, but it also uses wooden construction elements such as balks, poles, and fences. It has also been found nesting in rock cracks and loess slopes.In Austria, nesting of this bee was documented in a polystyrene thermal insulation panel on the wall of a basement foundation.Scientists suggest that the occurrence of this species in Lower Silesia indicates its expansion in Poland. This can be explained by climate change and by adaptability of this species, which allows it to inhabit anthropogenic areas such as parks and garden allotments.Females build 2-3 nests in decayed tree trunks or even in wooden fences, buildings, or old telegraph poles, and rock crevices. In treeless areas they build nests in the ground, or in the walls of ravines and gorges. First, they gnaw out short, horizontal entrance tunnel in the wood, then drill a vertical corridor about 15–30 cm long. The nesting space is divided into 10–15 cells, each measuring 2cm x 1.5cm. The dividing walls of the cells are made of packed sawdust. An egg is laid on previously gathered pollen.In the second half of July and in August the transformed bees leave their nesting cells. They hibernate in decayed tree trunks or walls, sometimes in small groups.The Black Carpenter Bees pollinate 30 species of flowering plants from 13 families. Among the most frequently visited plants are flowers of meadow sage, crown vetch, blackthorn, and morello cherry.The species is strictly protected and listed in the Polish Red Data Book of Animals: https://www.iop.krakow.pl/pckz/opis6e40.html?id=165&je=pl
The Black Carpenter Bee belongs to spring bees and appears in May and June. We simply cannot wait!
The observation on the campus of the Faculty of Biological Sciences highlights how important dead trees are for many species, including the protected and endangered ones. The presence of snags and coarse woody debris in parks, squares, and other green areas significantly helps to protect and maintain biodiversity.
Date of publication: 03.12.2024
Added by: M.J
Prepared by: Kg
Translated by Julia Wąsowicz (student of English Studies at the University of Wrocław) as part of the translation practice.
