Big-headed Large Carpenter Bee

Xylocopa inconstans · Order: Hymenoptera · Family: Apidae

No source yet on danger. We have no source yet on whether it bites, stings or damages anything.
Big-headed Large Carpenter Bee
Photo: Bernard DUPONT from FRANCE, CC BY-SA 2.0

The bee measures about 20 to 26 mm in length. Its scutellum forms a right angle and the back of the mesosoma and first abdominal segment have white hairs. It occurs across many African countries, from Senegal and Burkina-Faso in the west to South Africa in the south.

Source: Wikipedia

How to recognize it

The scutellum is right-angled and the rear of the mesosoma plus the first tergite are covered with white pubescence.

Source: Wikipedia

Size

Adults are roughly 20 to 26 mm long.

Source: Wikipedia

More photos

Big-headed Large Carpenter Bee photo 3
Photo: USGS Bee Inventory and Monitoring Lab from Beltsville, Maryland, USA, Public domain
Big-headed Large Carpenter Bee photo 4
Photo: USGS Bee Inventory and Monitoring Lab from Beltsville, Maryland, USA, Public domain
Big-headed Large Carpenter Bee photo 5
Photo: Hectonichus, CC BY-SA 3.0
Big-headed Large Carpenter Bee photo 6
Photo: Charles J. Sharp, CC BY-SA

Questions people ask

How can I identify a Big-headed Large Carpenter Bee?

Look for a bee about 2 cm long with a right-angled scutellum and white hairs on the back of its mesosoma and first abdominal segment.

Source: Wikipedia

Same family (Apidae)

Western Honey BeeWestern Honey BeeApis melliferaCan stingCommon Eastern Bumble BeeCommon Eastern Bumble BeeBombus impatiensCan stingEastern Carpenter BeeEastern Carpenter BeeXylocopa virginicaCan stingBrown-belted Bumble BeeBrown-belted Bumble BeeBombus griseocollisCommon Carder Bumble BeeCommon Carder Bumble BeeBombus pascuorumBuff-tailed Bumble BeeBuff-tailed Bumble BeeBombus terrestris

Sources

  • Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xylocopa_inconstans

Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia

Text written 2026-10-23 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-23.

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