Xylocopa aeratus
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
Xylocopa aerata, the golden-green carpenter bee or green carpenter bee, is one of two species of carpenter bee found only in the conservation areas around Sydney, and in the Great Dividing Range in New South Wales in Australia. Its only other habitat as of 2020 is on Kangaroo Island in South Australia. The species is especially vulnerable to fire, and much of its habitat was burnt during the 2019–20 Australian bushfire season.
The bee gets its common name by its habit of burrowing into wood. It is not a social species and does not produce honey, but it is an important pollinator for several species of Australian native plants. It was originally described by F. Smith in 1851 as Lestis aeratus. Its specific epithet is the Latin adjective aerata, meaning "bronzed".
As its name implies, the golden-green carpenter bee is a metallic green in colour, although it may appear purplish or bluish from some angles. A large stocky bee (at nearly 2 cm (0.79 in), one of the largest native bees in southern Australia), it is often heard by its loud low-pitched buzzing while flying between flowers. The male has yellow face markings. The bee does have a sting which is potentially painful... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Booderee National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 2 | Royal National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 3 | Blue Mountains National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sydney | 🇦🇺 Australia |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Golden-Green Carpenter Bee sighting in Blue Mountains National Park on a given day, based on 23 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 181st most-seen of the 789 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.
September
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Golden-Green Carpenter Bee in Blue Mountains National Park on a given day, against under 5% in May–July and December–January, the lowest months. That is one of Blue Mountains National Park's driest months, with about 50 mm of rain against 150 mm in March.
Between noon and 3 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Golden-Green Carpenter Bee sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
3rd of 3
Of the 3 parks where we can rate Golden-Green Carpenter Bee sightings, Blue Mountains National Park ranks 3rd at about 10%. The best odds are in Booderee National Park (Australia, about 20%) and Royal National Park (Australia, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Golden-Green Carpenter Bee is recorded against all the insects logged in Blue Mountains National Park (23 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
