Green Carpenter Bee vs Waved Sphinx Moth

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Green Carpenter Bee Waved Sphinx Moth
Scientific Name Xylocopa aerata Ceratomia undulosa
Order Hymenoptera Lepidoptera
Family Apidae Sphingidae
Size 15-20 mm 75-100 mm
Habitat Woodlands Woodlands
Diet Wood Feeders Nectar Feeders
Regions Australia Eastern North America
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

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.

Waved Sphinx Moth

A large gray hawk moth with wavy dark lines across the forewings, providing superb bark camouflage. It is one of the most commonly encountered sphingids at lights in eastern North America.

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Did You Know?

The waved sphinx is so common at porch lights in the eastern US that it is often the first sphinx moth most people encounter.