Two new carpenter bees: Xylocopa auriventris and Xylocopa romeroi

Carpenter bees got their name from their nesting behavior. Most of them burrow into hard plant material such as dead wood or bamboo and lay their eggs into the chamber. These bees are important pollinators for open-faced or shallow flowers. In fact for some species they are the only pollinators, e.g. for maypop (Passiflora incarnata) and Orphium. No other insect visits those.

Todays two new species were found in the Risaralda and the Valle del Cauca Departments of Colombia. 

Xylocopa auriventris was named after the colour of its abdomen (from the Latin words aureus (gold) and ventris (venter). The name Xylocopa romeroi honours the biologist Germán Villamizar Romero, father of the first author.

For the experts: A synopsis of the metallic carpenter bees Xylocopa subgenus Schonnherria Lepeletier in Colombia is presented. Eleven species were recognized: X. dimidiata Latreille, X. ecuadorica Cockerell, X. lateralis Say, X. lucida Smith, X. metallica Smith, X. muscaria (Fabricius), X. ornata Smith, X. viridis Smith, and X. simillima Smith, being this latter a new record for the country. In addition, two new species are described: X. auriventris n. sp. and X. romeroi n. sp. from the Colombian Andean and Pacific region, respectively. To stabilize the application of some names, lectotypes were designated for X. binotata Pérez (=X. lateralis), X. muscaria, X. ornata, X. simillima and X. viridis. Diagnoses, descriptions, comments, floral records, distribution maps, figures and an identification key are also provided.