Bornean Carpenter Bee

Description:

The bee was circling around and coming back to the same post where it would rest for 1-2 min then she would go again. The post was near the swimming pool which makes me think she may have preferred to rest in a sunny spot next to the water. The tropical carpenter bee is a very large, robust, solitary bee. Carpenter bees mate in flight. They can have more than two generations per year but this depends on the availability of floral resources in their habitat. Tropical carpenter bees often choose useful structural woods as nesting sites, as they are able to burrow through it with their powerful mandibles. Carpenter bees pollinate passion-fruit flowers in SE Asia.

Habitat:

Garden in the forest of Sukau area, Sabah.