![]() Additionally, they commonly defecate on the wall or other items directly below the opening, causing stains.Ĭarpenter bees do not eat wood. While the damage to wood from the drilling activities of a single bee is slight, the subsequent year's broods will expand the tunnel through branching activities and may cause considerable structural damage. She must be extremely provoked (i.e., handled) before she will sting. ![]() The female, however, is capable of stinging but seldom does. The males may even hover a short distance from people causing unnecessary panic. A common behavior of the males is to approach people if they move quickly or wave a hand in the air. They hover in the vicinity of the nest and will dart after any other flying insect that ventures into their territory. It is the male carpenter bee that is most often noticed. There is only one species of the large carpenter bee, Xylocopa virginica, which is encountered in Pennsylvania. ![]() If you see a number of large bees hovering near the eaves of the house or drilling in wood, you have carpenter bees. By contrast, the abdomen of bumble bees is fully clothed with hairs, many of them yellow in color. Most of the top of the abdomen of carpenter bees is without hairs and is shiny black in color. They construct their nests in trees or frame buildings. Their nests are underground, and they spend most of their time traveling between the nest and the flowers from which they obtain food.Ĭarpenter bees resemble bumble bees in both size and appearance but are not social insects. Bumble bees are large social bees 1/2 to 1 inch long, with black and yellow or, rarely, black and orange body markings.
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