Broad-Handed Carpenter Bee

Broad-Handed Carpenter Bee

Xylocopa latipes

Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck
at Khao Yai National Park

In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%

5 Verified sightings at Khao Yai National Park From 2019 to 2026
153 In all 10 parks
April Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Broad-Handed Carpenter Bee

Xylocopa latipes, the broad-handed carpenter bee, is a species of carpenter bee widely dispersed throughout Southeast Asia. This bee inhabits forests and constructs nests by burrowing into wood. It often makes long deep tunnels in wooden rafters, fallen trees, telephone poles, etc., but is not found in living trees.

It was first described by the English entomologist, Dru Drury in 1773, and is a member of the group of carpenter bees (Family Apidae). The broad-handed carpenter bee is a very large, robust, solitary bee. It is shiny, fully black in colour with fuscous metallic blue-green or purple wings in sunlight. The broad-handed carpenter bee is among the largest Xylocopa known and among the largest bees of the world (though it is not the world's largest, that title belongs to another Southeast Asian bee, the Indonesian Megachile pluto). It has a loud and distinctive, low-pitched buzzing that can be heard as it flies between flowers or perches. In urban areas, these bees can become attached to certain perches, returning to them day after day, even after several generations.

Carpenter bees mate on-the-wing. Males grasp the females in flight and place their front or middle... Wikipedia →

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Bako National Park 🇲🇾 Malaysia
~30%
2 Danum Valley Conservation Area 🇲🇾 Malaysia
~30%
3 Gunung Leuser National Park 🇮🇩 Indonesia
~30%
4 Kinabalu Park 🇲🇾 Malaysia
~20%
5 Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary 🇲🇾 Malaysia
~20%
6 Taman Negara National Park 🇲🇾 Malaysia
~20%
7 Khao Sok National Park 🇹🇭 Thailand
~20%
8 Sepilok 🇲🇾 Malaysia
~10%
9 Kaeng Krachan National Park 🇹🇭 Thailand
~10%
10 Khao Yai National Park 🇹🇭 Thailand
~10%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Kuching 🇲🇾 Malaysia
~30%
2 Kuala Lumpur 🇲🇾 Malaysia
~20%
3 Surakarta 🇮🇩 Indonesia
~20%
4 Singapore 🇸🇬 Singapore
~20%
5 Denpasar 🇮🇩 Indonesia
~20%
6 Yogyakarta 🇮🇩 Indonesia
~20%
7 Johor Bahru 🇲🇾 Malaysia
~20%
8 Jakarta 🇮🇩 Indonesia
~10%
9 Bandung 🇮🇩 Indonesia
~10%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Broad-Handed Carpenter Bee in Khao Yai National Park?

With luck

About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Broad-Handed Carpenter Bee sighting in Khao Yai National Park on a given day, based on 5 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 183rd most-seen of the 221 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.

When is the best time to see a Broad-Handed Carpenter Bee in Khao Yai National Park?

April and August

In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Broad-Handed Carpenter Bee in Khao Yai National Park on a given day, against under 5% in March, May–July and September–December, the lowest months.

What time of day is best to see a Broad-Handed Carpenter Bee?

Between 8 and 11 am

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Broad-Handed Carpenter Bee sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Is Khao Yai National Park the best place to see a Broad-Handed Carpenter Bee?

10th of 10

Of the 10 parks where we can rate Broad-Handed Carpenter Bee sightings, Khao Yai National Park ranks 10th at about 10%. The best odds are in Bako National Park (Malaysia, about 30%), Danum Valley Conservation Area (Malaysia, about 30%) and Gunung Leuser National Park (Indonesia, about 30%).

Which relatives of the Broad-Handed Carpenter Bee live in Khao Yai National Park?

Same family: Apidae

The closest relatives of the Broad-Handed Carpenter Bee that you can see in Khao Yai National Park (family Apidae, Honey Bees, Bumble Bees, and Allies) are Asian Honey Bee (about 30%), Giant Honey Bee (about 20%) and Red Dwarf Honey Bee (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the Broad-Handed Carpenter Bee sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Broad-Handed Carpenter Bee is recorded against all the insects logged in Khao Yai National Park (5 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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