• Yellow thorax
• Sides of head without white hairs
• Wings are bluish green

Xylocopa comes from the Greek word “xylokopos”, meaning woodcutter. ‘Xyl’ as in xylem refers to wood, while ‘kopos’ stems from koptein, which means to cut off. The name refers to the unique ability of Xylocopa bees to excavate and utilize wooden structures as nests.

Carpenter Bee Starter Facts by Wiki-NUS

1. They can sting multiple times – Unlike honey bees which have hooked stings, many bees including the carpenter bee have straight stings and can therefore sting repeatedly. However, only females have stings and are reluctant even so to sting unless under extreme provocation (for example, in defence of their nesting holes)
2. They have 5 eyes in total! – They have 2 compound eyes and 3 simple eyes. The simple eyes are called ocelli (singular ocellus) and are simple light receptors

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