---
title: "Violet Carpenter Bee"
description: "Xylocopa violacea — Insects & spiders. Xylocopa violacea, the violet carpenter bee, is the common European species of carpenter bee, and one of the largest bees in Europe."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/animal/violet-carpenter-bee
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Violet Carpenter Bee

> Xylocopa violacea — Insects & spiders. Xylocopa violacea, the violet carpenter bee, is the common European species of carpenter bee, and one of the largest bees in Europe.

- Scientific name: *Xylocopa violacea*
- Category: `insects` (Insects & spiders)
- Habitats: `forest` (Forest)
- iNaturalist observations: 21522
- Wikidata: [Q581995](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q581995)
- iNaturalist taxon: [124145](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/124145)

## Names

- en: Violet Carpenter Bee
- de: Große Holzbiene
- es: Abejorro Carpintero Europeo
- fr: Xylocope violet
- nl: Blauwzwarte houtbij
- pl: Zadrzechnia fioletowa

## Countries with the most observations

DE (2993), FR (2804), ES (1980), IT (1526), PT (1337), AT (504), GR (445), HR (344), CZ (251), CH (171), HU (134), PL (125)

## Summary

Xylocopa violacea, the violet carpenter bee, is the common European species of carpenter bee, and one of the largest bees in Europe. It is also native to Asia.
Like most members of the genus Xylocopa, it makes its nests in dead wood. It is not particularly aggressive, and will attack only if forced to.

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xylocopa_violacea

## Photo

![Violet Carpenter Bee](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/violet-carpenter-bee/medium.jpg)

Photo: Paul Braun · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/25679040

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/violet-carpenter-bee?lang=en` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).