About Xylocopa caerulea (Fabricius, 1804)
Xylocopa caerulea (Fabricius, 1804) is a relatively large carpenter bee species, with an average body size of 23 millimetres (0.91 in). This species displays sexual dimorphism: female individuals have a striking blue coloration on the thorax, while male individuals have a brownish-green thorax. The sides of the abdomen and the first abdominal segments are also covered in a finer, thinner coat of blue hairs that matches the blue hue of the female thorax. The reflectance spectrum of a female Xylocopa caerulea's thorax shows a broad band in the blue wavelength range, with a trough around 600 nm. This pattern indicates the presence of a pigment that strongly reduces light reflection in the red wavelength range. This species is widely distributed across Southeast Asia, India, and Southern China.
