Hi everyone! This is the third and final part of my Three Different Bee Species. Part One was all about Honey Bees here and Part Two was all about Common Eastern Bumble Bees here.
Today is all about Eastern Carpenter Bees, (Xylocopa virginica). Unlike honey bees and bumble bees, they do not live in colonies. They are solitary bees. Females use their strong jaws to bore holes and tunnels into wood; hence their name. This will be the nest for her brood. If you see round holes in the wood of your home, patio or fences, it was made by a carpenter bee. They do not eat the wood, they feed on nectar from an assortment of flowers which makes them good pollinators. Females also collect pollen to place in her nest tunnels which her larvae will feed on.
After mating with the female carpenter bee, the male will guard the entrance to the nest. Males do not have stingers. If you see one hoovering around you, just let it bee because it is only investigating you to make sure you are not a rival male bee.
Eastern Carpenter bees look similar to Common Eastern Bumble bees and they way you can tell them apart is by looking at their abdomens. Carpenter bees abdomens are glossy looking because there isn't any hair, unlike the bumble bees who do have hair on their abdomens.
Eastern Carpenter Bee in flight.
Common Eastern Bumble bee in flight.
Please be kind to bees of all species and remember how important they are to us and our ecosystem.
Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend!
All photos are my own.
Information Source: nature.mdc.gov, insectidentification.org