Xylocopa sonorina
Okay, so xylocopa sonorina is the name of a bee. This bee is different from the ones you might see in your backyard because it's pretty big – almost the size of a grown-up's thumb! And instead of being black and yellow like most bees, it's shiny and black with a little bit of blue on it.
Now, these bees are very important because they're what we call "pollinators". That means they help plants make seeds by carrying pollen from the flowers of one plant to another. Without pollinators like bees, we wouldn't have a lot of the yummy fruits and vegetables that we like to eat!
The xylocopa sonorina bee is special because it's really good at pollinating a certain kind of plant called the kiawe tree. Kiawe trees grow in Hawaii, which is where these bees live. The bees have long tongues that they can use to reach deep into the kiawe flowers to get the nectar. As they're sipping up the nectar, they end up getting a bunch of pollen all over their bodies, which they then carry to the next kiawe flower they visit. This helps the kiawe trees make more seeds and grow more kiawe trees!
But even though these bees are important, they're also a little bit scary looking, so if you ever see one, it's best to just give it some space and let it do its job of pollinating.
Now, these bees are very important because they're what we call "pollinators". That means they help plants make seeds by carrying pollen from the flowers of one plant to another. Without pollinators like bees, we wouldn't have a lot of the yummy fruits and vegetables that we like to eat!
The xylocopa sonorina bee is special because it's really good at pollinating a certain kind of plant called the kiawe tree. Kiawe trees grow in Hawaii, which is where these bees live. The bees have long tongues that they can use to reach deep into the kiawe flowers to get the nectar. As they're sipping up the nectar, they end up getting a bunch of pollen all over their bodies, which they then carry to the next kiawe flower they visit. This helps the kiawe trees make more seeds and grow more kiawe trees!
But even though these bees are important, they're also a little bit scary looking, so if you ever see one, it's best to just give it some space and let it do its job of pollinating.