Hawaiian Easy Yellow-faced Bee vs Japanese Carpenter Ant

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Hawaiian Easy Yellow-faced Bee Japanese Carpenter Ant
Scientific Name Hylaeus facilis Camponotus japonicus
Order Hymenoptera Hymenoptera
Family Colletidae Formicidae
Size 6-9 mm 7-13 mm
Habitat Farmland Underground
Diet Pollen Feeders Omnivores
Regions Oceania (Hawaii) Japan, China, Korea
Conservation Endangered Least Concern

Hawaiian Easy Yellow-faced Bee

An endemic Hawaiian bee found across several of the main Hawaiian islands. It is a generalist pollinator that visits a variety of native and non-native flowers. Like other Hawaiian Hylaeus, it carries pollen internally in its crop rather than on external body hairs.

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Did You Know?

Unlike most bees, Hawaiian yellow-faced bees swallow pollen and carry it in their crop, regurgitating it to provision their nest cells.

Japanese Carpenter Ant

A large black carpenter ant common throughout East Asia and a popular species in ant keeping. Colonies can grow very large with distinctive polymorphic worker castes.

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Did You Know?

This ant is one of the most commonly kept pet ant species in Japan and has become an icon in the Japanese ant-keeping hobby.