Possible expansion of the range of xylocopa violacea L. (hymenoptera, apiformes, apidae) in europe

Abstract

The violet carpenter bee is a species which can chiefly be found around the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea. This bee species has rarely been found in Poland, which is the northernmost area of its occurrence. Between 1868 and 1935, the Xylocopa violacea (Linnaeus, 1758) was observed at only 8 locations in Poland. There were then no reports of the occurrence of this bee species in Poland for 70 years. The species was noted again in 2005; between 2005 and 2017, it was noted at 20 locations. This study provides detailed data on the history of the distribution of violet carpenter bees in Poland. The current data show that the population of violet carpenter bees is regenerating in Poland and that it is expanding northwards. The work contains information about the spread of this species northwards in other European countries. These changes in the species distribution may have been caused by climatic changes in Europe.