Talk:Xylocopa sonorina

A fact from Xylocopa sonorina appeared on Wikipedia's Main Page in the Did you know column on 11 May 2009 (check views). The text of the entry was as follows:

Did you know... that a blister beetle was introduced in Hawaii to trim the wood-boring Sonoran carpenter bee population, but the beetle failed to survive in the islands?

A record of the entry may be seen at Wikipedia:Recent additions/2009/May.

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Only one?

Only one female will collect pollen

Hmmm...I'm not sure this is accurate or if it is, it may need to be clarified. On Maui, there's a field with dozens of females collecting pollen at the same time. Do they belong to different nests? Viriditas (talk) 12:00, 4 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Role as pests and pollinators

My understanding is that they are considered both a pest and an important pollinator in Hawaii. Viriditas (talk) 12:09, 4 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Whether they are a pollinator in Hawaii seems to be a subject of debate. More later... Viriditas (talk) 14:21, 4 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Range

Found on all major Hawaiian islands except for Kauai as of 1993. Viriditas (talk) 14:17, 4 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]
- I actually question that source since the Bishop Museum seems to have found them on the outer islands. I'll bet that they are on Kauai as of 2009. Viriditas (talk) 02:30, 5 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]
  - Left it in unless I can confirm otherwise. Viriditas (talk) 02:55, 11 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]
    - I have seen these bees on Kauai for many years - well before 2009. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.202.107.45 (talk) 02:26, 5 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]
      - The habitat and colony I wrote about in this article has been mostly wiped out on Maui as well. My guess is that they are being actively exterminated because they are classified as pests. But I found that they were important pollinators for specific types of plants, not pests. They are also very beautiful. Viriditas (talk) 06:38, 5 August 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Synonym?

Many of the sources are saying that X. sonorina is a synonym for Xylocopa varipuncta. What to do? Viriditas (talk) 10:10, 5 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Apis mellifera was brought from California to Hawaii in 1857. This seems to lend some credence to this theory, since X. varipuncta is also from CA. So, what are the differences between the two species? Are there any? Viriditas (talk) 14:27, 6 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

This appears to be some kind of indirect confirmation: [1] The same site only lists X. sonorina in Guam. Viriditas (talk) 14:51, 6 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

The Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) currently refers to this subspecies as Xylocopa brasilianorum sonorina.[2] Viriditas (talk) 09:45, 7 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Snelling 2003 appears to have all the answers. Viriditas (talk) 13:05, 9 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

1820-1842

It looks like Xylocopa sonorina arrived in Hawaii sometime between these two dates, from my understanding of the lumber industry. That is to say, it is very likely the species hitched a ride inside some wood, as Hurd 1955 gives an account if this in the 20th century, but going the opposite direction, from Hawaii to California. Viriditas (talk) 10:09, 7 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Passiflora

Chapman, G. P. 1964. Pollination and the yields of tropical crops: An appraisal. Euphytica 13: 187-197.

Redundant

This article is very redundant and repeats several sentences verbatim throughout, such as the descriptions of the species life cycle. 11 September 2014 — Preceding unsigned comment added by Carzhong (talk • contribs) 02:43, 12 September 2014 (UTC)[reply]

@Carzhong: please read WP:LEAD. "The lead serves as an introduction to the article and a summary of its most important aspects...The lead will usually repeat information that is in the body". Viriditas (talk) 09:04, 14 September 2014 (UTC)[reply]