Teddy Bear Bees: these enormous bees are covered in thick, golden "fur," which makes them look like flying teddy bears
Xylocopa sonorina, commonly known as the teddy bear bee or the valley carpenter bee, is an unusual species that can be found in the western United States, Mexico, and parts of the South Pacific. This is one of the largest bees in North America, measuring up to 26mm (about 1 inch) long, which is roughly the size of a paperclip. Its eggs are also among the largest insect eggs in the world, measuring up to 15mm long.
These are solitary bees, meaning that they don't form colonies or live together in hives. The females occassionally engage in facultative sociality (living in small, loose-knit communities that benefit from one another) but each bee still occupies her own private burrow/nest. Each nest is created by excavating a small tunnel into a tree, telephone pole, fence or other wooden structure.
Above: male teddy bear bees
The males have a very distinctive appearance -- their eyes are bright green, and their bodies are covered in thick, golden-orange "fur" (which is actually composed of hair-like structures known as setae). The females look totally different, with black bodies, dark eyes, and a dark metallic sheen on their wings.
Above: a male teddy bear bee is depicted on the left, and a female of the same species is shown on the right
The males are completely harmless, as they lack the ability to sting. The females can sting, but they rarely sting humans unless their nests are directly threatened.
Xylocopa sonorina is not the world's only teddy bear bee -- that nickname is also shared by Amegilla bombiformis, which is another species of solitary bee that can be found only in Australia. Amegilla bombiformis is covered in a similar layer of brownish-orange "fur," but its body is much smaller and more compact.
Above: the Australian teddy bear bee, Amegilla bombiformis
Bug Guide: Xylocopa sonorina
Mount Diablo Interpretive Association: Xylocopa sonorina
Biodiversity Data Journal: Xylocopa sonorina from Canada, with Comments on Taxonomy
Royal Society Publishing: Social Consequences of Energetically Costly Nest Construction in a Facultatively Social Bee
Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution: Fluid Nest Membership Drives Variable Relatedness in Groups of a Facultatively Social Bee
University of California: The Teddy Bear Bee
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