Vol. 11, Special Issue 11 (2022)

The large carpenter bees are the important pollinators and vital component of the mellitofauna. They are cosmopolitan, common in sub-tropical, tropical and thin in temperate and cold arid conditions. The large carpenter bees of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh region includes Xylocopa valga, X. dejeanii, X. fenestrata and X. pubesence. The species presiding in this region are polylectic with solitary to social behavior. They are univoltine to multivoltine based on the type of region and the availability of flora. The large carpenter bees foraging depends on two different strategies (nectar collection), depending on the morphological characteristics of the flower; legitimate visit: where it feeds while landing on the front parts of the flower and accesses the nectar transferring pollen to the stamens and illegitimate visit: that is accomplished by accessing the flower from behind and cutting the corolla.This paper describes the floral resources and foraging ecology of Large carpenter bees of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh so to have a better understanding on their ecological services they provide besides will help in their conservation.