Southern Carpenter Bee

Southern Carpenter Bee

Xylocopa micans

Daily sighting probability ~30% · Possible
at Everglades National Park

In 3 days ~60% in a week ~90%

221 Verified sightings at Everglades National Park From 2019 to 2026
348 In all 3 parks
August Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Southern Carpenter Bee

Xylocopa micans, also known as the southern carpenter bee, is a species of bee within Xylocopa, the genus of carpenter bees. The southern carpenter bee can be found mainly in the coastal and gulf regions of the southeastern United States, as well as Mexico and Guatemala. Like all Xylocopa bees, X. micans excavates nests in woody plant material. However, unlike its sympatric species Xylocopa virginica, X. micans has not been found to construct nest galleries in structural timbers of building, making it less of an economic nuisance to humans. Carpenter bees have a wide range of mating strategies between different species. The southern carpenter bee exhibits a polymorphic mating strategy, with its preferred method of mating changing as the season progresses from early spring to mid summer. Like most bees in its genus, the southern carpenter bee is considered a solitary bee because it does not live in colonies.

The French entomologist and Hymenoptera specialist Amédée Louis Michel le Peletier first described Xylocopa micans in 1841. The genus name Xylocopa is derived from the Ancient Greek word xylokopos/ξῦλοκὀπος meaning "wood-worker", a reference to the bee... Wikipedia →

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Big Cypress National Preserve 🇺🇸 United States
~30%
2 Everglades National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~30%
3 Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge 🇺🇸 United States
~20%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Houston 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
2 Dallas 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
3 Austin 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
4 Orlando 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
5 San Antonio 🇺🇸 United States
~10%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Southern Carpenter Bee in Everglades National Park?

Possible

About 30% of wildlife watchers report a Southern Carpenter Bee sighting in Everglades National Park on a given day, based on 221 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 13th most-seen of the 496 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 60%, and over a week to about 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Southern Carpenter Bee in Everglades National Park?

February and August

In those months about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Southern Carpenter Bee in Everglades National Park on a given day, against about 10% in April to June, the lowest months.

What time of day is best to see a Southern Carpenter Bee?

Between noon and 3 pm

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Southern Carpenter Bee sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Is Everglades National Park the best place to see a Southern Carpenter Bee?

Among the best

Of the 3 parks where we can rate Southern Carpenter Bee sightings, Everglades National Park ranks 2nd at about 30%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Big Cypress National Preserve (United States, about 30%).

Where does the Southern Carpenter Bee sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Southern Carpenter Bee is recorded against all the insects logged in Everglades National Park (221 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.

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