Additional Host Plants of the Carpenter Bee, Xylocopa brasilianorum (L.) (Hymenoptera: Apoidea), in Puerto Rico

Abstract

Ten years of observing the food and nesting habits of the carpenter bee or "cigarrón", Xylocopa brasilianorum (L.), has resulted in the listing of an additional 89 new records of plant species whose flowers provide food for this insect in the form of nectar and pollen. Four additional species were observed as being used as nesting sites, and are first reports for Puerto Rico. It is suggested that the carpenter bee, in her food harvesting activities, may be responsible for the pollination of 18 fruit and seed crops that are used as food sources by man in Puerto Rico.