African Carpenter Bee vs Elegant Brown Lacewing

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute African Carpenter Bee Elegant Brown Lacewing
Scientific Name Xylocopa caffra Sympherobius elegans
Order Hymenoptera Neuroptera
Family Apidae Hemerobiidae
Size 20-28 mm 5-8 mm wingspan
Habitat Woodlands Orchards
Diet Wood Feeders Wood Feeders
Regions Southern Africa, East Africa Europe, North Africa
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

African Carpenter Bee

A large robust bee with a shiny black body and yellowish thoracic hair in males. It excavates nesting tunnels in dead wood and plant stems.

💡

Did You Know?

Despite their intimidating size and loud buzzing, males are completely harmless as they lack a stinger.

Elegant Brown Lacewing

A tiny, delicate brown lacewing found in bark crevices of broadleaved trees. One of the smallest hemerobiid species in Europe.

💡

Did You Know?

At barely 5 mm wingspan, it is small enough to hunt insects living inside bark fissures.