European Carpenter Bee (Xylocopa violacea)

Scientific name: Xylocopa violacea (Linnaeus, 1758)
Common name: European Carpenter Bee
Other names: Violet Carpenter Bee
French name: Abeille charpentière or Xylocope
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Apidae
Wingspan : Length : 25-30 mm, wingspan 40-50 mm.
Biotope: Near flowers with pollen and nectar, availability of wood to dig tunnels to lay the eggs.
Geographic area: Southern and central Europe.
Observation period : Adults, which have overwintered, fly since early spring. A new brood comes out in late summer.

The European Carpenter Bee is the largest European bee.
The body is purple black and covered with short hairs of the same colour.
The wings are dark brown with a lilac-coloured sheen.
The antennae are elbowed. Those of the males are orange on articles 11 and 12 near the tip.
This is a solitary insect. It is often seen gathering nectar. It has a quick and noisy flight.
The European Carpenter bee is not xylophagous. It digs long tunnels in wood where it lays the eggs.
The eggs are some of the largest eggs laid by insects
Brood cells are filled with honey and pollen to feed the larvae.
The European Carpenter Bee overwinters as an imago.

European Carpenter Bee (Xylocopa violacea) - Yvelines, France - July 16th 2006

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These European Carpenter Bees are very impressive insects but they are almost harmless. They very rarely sting.

European Carpenter Bee (Xylocopa violacea) - Saône-et-Loire, France - February 26th 2021

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Articles 11 and 12 of the antennae, near the tip and orange in colour, indicate a male.

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André Bon January 2025