Can anyone help me identify this huge flying insect?  I've tried doing some research trying to find info on large, black, flying insects but cannot find a match.  It's possible I passed by information about it because I was focusing on something with wings extended.

 

I tried describing it to my caddie this morning and she immediately described it and told me it was dangerous.  That's all I have to go on.

 

 

Just looks like Beatles not the musical kind. 

Could it be a cicada? Body/head shape similar.

Looks like a hornet to me.

 

The best thing about hornets is that they don't follow you about... they are not aggressive and tend to ignore you. They might pack a nasty sting, but as long as you leave them alone they have no interest in people.

Air New Zealand.

Xylocopa latipes

Tropical carpenter bee .

Beelzebub's daughter.

Last time I saw her she was dancing in Soi Cowboy 

 

Seriously, a carpenter bee. 

Ultraman foe if I have ever seen one!

Thanks, everyone.  It is indeed a Xylocopa latipes species of carpenter bee.  Sometimes a forum like this sure beats a Google search when you don't know anything about the topic in the first place.

 

Thanks, too, to the contributors who provided some humor.

 

14 hours ago, pitufikken said:

Xylocopa latipes

Tropical carpenter bee .

Spot on. ????

Aroi mak mak?

 

Odd the number of times you hear Thais say dangerous or it kill you when in fact the creature is usually totally harmless. They seem to know very little or zero about the wildlife in their country. 
You might think they would add a few hours in the school program to say ok this is a king cobra so avoid and this is a tree snake so no problem etc .

Do not kill them , they are inoffensive and part of an already damaged natural ecosystem .

There's a good group on Facebook for identifying pretty much anything in Thailand; birds, insects, snakes etc 

 

Pretty interesting to just follow as well, some really cool and amazing stuff in this country!

https://www.facebook.com/groups/thai.species.id

15 minutes ago, ronster said:

Odd the number of times you hear Thais say dangerous or it kill you when in fact the creature is usually totally harmless. They seem to know very little or zero about the wildlife in their country. 
You might think they would add a few hours in the school program to say ok this is a king cobra so avoid and this is a tree snake so no problem etc .

unfortunately, no room for this in the school programme; it is packed with geography, history i.a. already ????

 

It's beautiful whatever its called

Posted by someone on the forum years ago. Unfortunately I can't recall who.

 

Carpenter Bee, females can sting but they are very docile.
They'll buzz around you and then just fly off. As other's have mentioned, please don't destroy them, there's enough damage from pesticides and habitat loss

I took this picture of a Carpenter Bee at work a couple of years ago. Gnawed its way through a bamboo  plant support in a short time.

16 hours ago, Jai Dee said:

Looks like a hornet to me.

 

The best thing about hornets is that they don't follow you about... they are not aggressive and tend to ignore you. They might pack a nasty sting, but as long as you leave them alone they have no interest in people.

A hornet looks like a large wasp, ie yellow and black stripped, and yes they can be very aggressive even if un-provoked.

 

16 hours ago, pitufikken said:

Xylocopa latipes

Tropical carpenter bee .

Good spot! We used to have one visit us regularly at our house in Udon Thani. It's favourite nesting site was in the facia board of our carport.

3 hours ago, ronster said:

Odd the number of times you hear Thais say dangerous or it kill you when in fact the creature is usually totally harmless. They seem to know very little or zero about the wildlife in their country. 
You might think they would add a few hours in the school program to say ok this is a king cobra so avoid and this is a tree snake so no problem etc .

Every snake is dangerous as well, but not wearing a helmet drunk driving etc etc seams no problem at all.

20 hours ago, pitufikken said:

Xylocopa latipes

Tropical carpenter bee .

 

Damn you got in before me! 

30 minutes ago, Freddy42OZ said:

 

Damn you got in before me! 

Well well, no problem, I just happen to read the article before you, and the picture was very good, so easy to identify, have seen them before in rotten stumps.

A bee or hornet, not something to play around with.

I see them a lot hiking, like to come and check you out, very loud, never aggressive just interested.