The eastern carpenter bee is similar to most other bee species in that it does not have a queen.
What is a carpenter bee.
Anywhere from 12 25 mm long similar in size and appearance to bumble bees black greenish black metallic blue or purplish blue in color yellow sections on the face males.
Large carpenter bee xylocopa.
The common name carpenter bee derives from their nesting behavior.
Carpenter bee basics.
The female carpenter bee is the one who makes the hole by chewing through the wood.
Carpenter bee traps can be constructed from simple materials or purchased online.
In early spring suspend the traps from eaves and overhangs at the corners of the house porch deck shed barn etc.
Carpenter bees xylocpa spp are quite different from the garden bumblebees bombus spp and common honeybees apis spp that are so important for plant pollination carpenter bees are so named for their nesting behavior which involves burrowing into dead wood material which can include the structural wood in homes and other buildings.
Nearly all species burrow into hard plant material such as dead wood or bamboo.
Carpenter bees are species in the genus xylocopa of the subfamily xylocopinae the genus includes some 500 bees in 31 subgenera.
Signs of an infestation.
Hottel recommends double checking wood decks and railings including the undersides for signs of carpenter bees.
In xylocopa virginica females are responsible for reproduction foraging and nest construction though they.
When you have numerous carpenter bee nests you will have numerous larva.
They are solitary bees and are not part of a larger hive community.
Not all bee species are beneficial however.
The most common signs of a carpenter bee infestation are the round smooth holes that carpenter bees bore into wood.
Most consist of a small wooden box with inch diameter holes drilled in each side and a plastic water bottle suspended below.
They make enough noise to attract a range of predators including woodpeckers.
Carpenter bee larvae attract predators.
Xylocopa virginica more commonly known as the eastern carpenter bee extends through the eastern united states and into canada they nest in various types of wood and eat pollen and nectar.
How to tell if you have a carpenter bee infestation.
The larva of carpenter bees is large noisy and nutritious.
There are several species of carpenter bee in the united states but the most common one is the virginia carpenter bee xylocopa virginica these bugs are found throughout the southeast but range as far as connecticut to the north and texas in the west.
Instead they burrow into soft woods such as the siding of a house to live in and lay larvae.
The most obvious characteristic used to separate large and small bees is size.
