Gynandromorphism is the most common case of sexual anomaly reported in bees and is characterized by individuals that show male and female traits simultaneously in the body. Gynandromorphic cases have been reported for 140 species of bees, an underestimated number comparing to the twenty thousand bee species described nowadays. Here we describe and illustrate the first case of a gynandromorphic Xylocopa darwini Cockerell, 1926 and the fourth case of Xylocopa varipuncta Patton, 1879. The specimens show a mixed form of gynandromorphism with predominantly female features and with all its male traits concentrated in one side of the body, right side in X. darwini and left side in X. varipuncta. The gynanders of X. darwini and X. varipuncta were collected on Isabela Island (Galapagos - Ecuador) and Riverside (California - USA), and were deposited in Smithsonian Collection and California Academy of Sciences, respectively. Including this work, eighteen cases of gynandromorphism were reported to Xylocopa and twelve were recorded from Neoxylocopa subgenus.
Full Text Finder