• Family: Apidae
• Approximate # species in region: 4
• Common name: Small carpenter bees

Although they are still true carpenter bees, Ceratina are less than 1/4x the size of our more familiar eastern carpenter bee Xylocopa virginica. Ceratina are slender, dark metallic blue bees that are most common in late summer and fall. They live in semi-social stems above ground that females excavate by chewing up the pith to form nest partitions. In our region, Ceratina are represented by a handful of tricky to distinguish species.

Small metallic Lasioglossum might seem superficially similar to Ceratina, but their eyes are black (vs. blue, green, or gray in Ceratina) and females never have pale markings on their faces. Ceratina are also quite large-headed relative to many other small bees and have an almost teardrop-shaped abdomen that is widest near the tip.

Regional Species List: