Green Carpenter Bee vs American Bumble Bee

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Green Carpenter Bee American Bumble Bee
Scientific Name Xylocopa aerata Bombus pensylvanicus
Order Hymenoptera Hymenoptera
Family Apidae Apidae
Size 15-20 mm 15-25 mm
Habitat Woodlands Farmland
Diet Wood Feeders Nectar Feeders
Regions Australia Eastern and central United States, now declining across its range
Conservation Least Concern Vulnerable

Green Carpenter Bee

A striking carpenter bee with a metallic green or golden-green thorax found only in Australia. It nests in soft dead wood and pithy plant stems.

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Did You Know?

It is one of only a handful of bee species in the world with vivid metallic green body coloring in the genus Xylocopa.

American Bumble Bee

A large bumble bee with a yellow thorax, black band between the wings, and a mostly yellow abdomen. Once one of the most common bumble bees in North America, it has experienced significant population declines.

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Did You Know?

Its populations have declined by nearly 90 percent in some regions, prompting conservation concern across its entire range.