Double-banded Carpenter Bee

Xylocopa caffra · Order: Hymenoptera · Family: Apidae

Also called: Banded Large Carpenter Bee, Doubleband Carpenter Bee, White-banded Large Carpenter Bee, Yellow Banded Large Carpenter Bee

No source yet on danger. We have no source yet on whether it bites, stings or damages anything.
Double-banded Carpenter Bee
Photo: Tony Rebelo, CC BY-SA

They live in many habitats from moist coasts to dry savannahs, nesting solitary in Aloe, Agave, tree branches or timber. They are Afrotropical, ranging across west, central and southern Africa, Madagascar and some Indian Ocean islands.

Source: Wikipedia

How to recognize it

Females have two white or yellow bands on the hind thorax and first abdominal segment; males are uniform greenish-yellow.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it lives

Found in moist coastal settings to dry savannahs.

Source: Wikipedia

What it eats

Adults use many plants for nectar and pollen.

Source: Wikipedia

Life cycle

Females carry phoretic mites in an abdominal chamber called the acarinarium.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it comes from

Occurs from west to central and southern Africa, plus Madagascar and some Indian Ocean islands.

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_caffra

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 2026-10-22.

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