# Carpenter Bees?



## Hobie

I know I have carpenter bees, as they are doing a number on my barn eaves.

However, I have a large New England aster blooming now, which is covered with bees. A couple are the large bees that I am used to seeing as carpenter bees. Most others are small, maybe 1/2" long, but they look like miniature versions of the carpenter bee.

Stupid question: Do carpenter bees come in different sizes? Or do they emerge full size? (Never heard of a bee moulting.) If these are carpenters, I would be wise to knock down the population now. But if they are bumble bees, I definitely do not want to do them any harm, but according to my insect ID book, bumbles have yellow on the abdomen. These are all black. Perhaps a Mining Bee?


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## dragonfly

I've never heard of carpenter bees being different sizes. How about the possibility of one of the beefly species? Got a pic?


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## Hobie

Here's my attempt at a photo:


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## dragonfly

Great photo
It looks like a species of beefly to me. I'll see if I can find out specifically or not. If you want a good solid guestimate or maybe a real answer, go to gardenweb.com and post it on their bug ID forum. There's a couple of really good entomology types over there.

Here's a link to a beefly page that has a few photos. There is a very wide variety of beeflies, so tracking down your particular one could be difficult. I have seen about 5 or 6 varieties here on this specific property. 
http://www.cirrusimage.com/flies_bee.htm


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## Hobie

Fascinating web site! I looked around a bit more, and it might be a bumble bee. Looks quite a bit like the bumble on the aster about half way down this page http://www.cirrusimage.com/Bees_bumble.htm


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## RayMarler

Looks like a bumble bee to me. I've got both Black and Gold Carpenter bees, and Bumble bees here. Of course, I've also got my honeybees too!


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## Eaglerock

*that is a bumble bee*

That is not a carpenter bee, that is a bumble bee.

This is what they look like.

http://www.lawestvector.org/carpenter_bee.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carpenter_bee

http://www.geocities.com/sighs69/bee.html


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## dragonfly

If it's a bumbler, you guys have small bumblebees up there The bumblebees here are about the same size as the carpenter bees. Must be because it's Texas.

This is a bumblebee on one of my Mexican sunflowers. The flower is about 2 1/2 or 3 inches in diameter.

http://www.pbase.com/dragonfly/image/104576062


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## Hambone

dragonfly said:


> If it's a bumbler, you guys have small bumblebees up there The bumblebees here are about the same size as the carpenter bees. Must be because it's Texas.
> 
> This is a bumblebee on one of my Mexican sunflowers. The flower is about 2 1/2 or 3 inches in diameter.
> 
> http://www.pbase.com/dragonfly/image/104576062


Everything is bigger in Texas. 

What is that waiting its turn. Bee? Wasp? That looks like a bugs David vs Goliath.


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## RayMarler

When I was growing up in the country family farm, yes, bumblers were large. This year I've seen bumblers that were surprisingly small, 1/2 the size of a carpenter or maybe even smaller.


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## Eaglerock

dragonfly said:


> I
> http://www.pbase.com/dragonfly/image/104576062


What do you Texans fee your bees down there...

http://www.pbase.com/dragonfly/image/68880367


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## Eaglerock

RayMarler said:


> When I was growing up in the country family farm, yes, bumblers were large. This year I've seen bumblers that were surprisingly small, 1/2 the size of a carpenter or maybe even smaller.


Both sizes have been around here as long as I can remember. I just don't see very many large ones anymore.


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## Hobie

Eaglerock, the carpenter bees I have here do not look at all like the pictures on the websites you referenced. They look like huge bumblebees, except the abdomen is shiny solid black. The thorax is fuzzy and yellowish. My barn eaves and numerous happy woodpeckers confirm that these are PA carpenter bees. What wonderful variety in the natural world, although it makes things tough for bug ID by beginners like me.


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## dragonfly

Derek said:


> What is that waiting its turn. Bee? Wasp? That looks like a bugs David vs Goliath.


I think it is a variety of wasp, but I'm not certain.


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## dragonfly

Eaglerock said:


> What do you Texans fee your bees down there...
> 
> http://www.pbase.com/dragonfly/image/68880367


We feed 'em beef. What did you expect?

That one is a green sweat bee. Pretty, isn't he?


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## dragonfly

Hobie, check out this page on hover flies. There's a group that looks like bumblebees. The main reason I didn't think your pic looked like a bumblebee was because the wings don't look right (to me). 

http://www.gardensafari.net/english/hoverflies.htm#hommel

Look at this one:http://www.gardensafari.net/pics/vliegen/zweefvliegen/volucella_bombylans_hs2_3316.jpg


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## dragonfly

Hobie, would you mind if I post a link to your photo at Gardenweb? I'd love to get the input of some of those folks.


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## Hobie

Dragonfly, please, go right ahead! I would be very interested in their input. Would you please report back with any info? Or send me a link...

They are similar to the hoverflies, except how the wings are held, but this could just be when the photos were taken. Also, the abdomen on "mine" is mostly black, but reveals thin stripes of yellow when it is flexed. For what it's worth, they fly like bees: that kind of slow-ish hovering flight, not fast like a housefly.


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## dragonfly

Hobie, I posted it a few minutes ago and will check later to see if there are any responses.


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## Bizzybee

I have lots of both around me. The Carpenter Bees are always about the same size which is large. The bumbles start out very small in the spring, not much bigger than my honey bees. But their size increases as the year progresses to nearly the same size of the Carpenters. I understand that to be the normal course for them though. I guess the nest is started by a single queen alone in the spring and her resources are limited for rearing her young and tending to them as well. As her young get older and are able to help her collect food the new bees become bigger. Eventually the offspring take over all the work and food collection and the bees reach their full potential for size from the added and adequate food supply. Not to mention my syrup in the fall! :waiting:


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## dragonfly

Well, no replies to my query yet. It appears my two favorite bug people over there don't post much lately. I'll keep checking.


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## ScadsOBees

Spend a little time here....I see there are carpenter bees in all sizes shapes and colors! Personally I don't know the difference between the two. From what I can tell the carpenters have longer flatter butts, often hairless and shiney. But I'm not always so sure.

http://bugguide.net/node/view/262/bgpage

This fall we've found several big bumbler-types with little bumbler-types taking a piggy-back ride. 

Rick


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## Ravenseye

The Carpenter Bees around here sound just like Hobie's. Neighbor had an awful time with them and I ended up replacing a lot of the trim on her house. They can do some terrible damage.


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## dragonfly

Well, Hobie, it took awhile, but I was told by one poster that it is a plain average honeybee
The one poster I am familiar with that seems to know her stuff on insect ID says it's a bumblee species. I found a site you may be interested in on bee species ID. I thought it was great.

http://pick4.pick.uga.edu/mp/20q?guide=Bombus


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## Bizzybee

I replaced all my fascia boards and brick molding with pvc molding. Hope those devils are breaking their teeth off when they visit now!!! :no:


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## Hobie

Dragonfly, I am assuming yout typo-ed and meant "bumble bee." I would hope I would recognize a honey bee by now! Looks like a cool web site... thanks! Will have to poke around more when I have more time.


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## dragonfly

Hobie said:


> Dragonfly, I am assuming yout typo-ed and meant "bumble bee." I would hope I would recognize a honey bee by now! Looks like a cool web site... thanks! Will have to poke around more when I have more time.


No, one of the posters on there told me it was a plain old honeybee. I had to control my impulse to laugh. Seriously.
The other (The one whom I am familiar with) is the one who said bumblebee.


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## Hobie

Hmmm. I've apparently got the wrong species in my little white boxes. 

(Sorry! I mis-interpreted your  in the first post!)


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## dragonfly

Hobie said:


> Hmmm. I've apparently got the wrong species in my little white boxes.


Yeah me too
I would hate to think of working a hive of our big bumblebees down here in this part of the country.


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## MichaelW

The very large bumble bees are queens. Early in the year, they will be queens foraging for to supply their new nests. Late in the year they will be virgins, which will overwinter in diapause and establish new nests in the spring. Queens are the easiest ones to mistake for carpenter bees, but check the abdomen. Some queens abdomen are mostly black, like our carpenter bee, X. virginica.

If the abdomen is smooth and shiny, it should be a carpenter bee. If it has white on its face, its a male (for the species we have here, X. virginica). Check out the hind legs too.
http://www.discoverlife.org/mp/20q?guide=Xylocopa
click on the species names in the left column for photos.


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## Jeffzhear

Hobie, 
I have large carpenter bees here that are as you described with shiny abdomens. They tend to hover and get defensive if you go near their holes in the boards. They are big! The pic you have looks like the smaller variety bumblebee that I have here. We have little ones and big ones. I have a nest of the smaller variety in the ground under my pines out back.

Anyway, the best thing you can do is paint the wood. They prefer unpainted wood to drill their holes, however on occassion I have had them drill in through painted wood. They cause so much damage and you can't see it. All you see is a little hole, but the hollowed out section is amazing.

What I do is take a piece of aluminum screen and poke it in the hole...they can't chew threw aluminum, but they do chew through caulking, etc. This traps the bees in the wood, as they can't get out and they die and the ones on the outside, can't get in to save the others in time.

And, an old tennis or badmitten raquet works great on those that hover too close.

My advice would be to rid yourself of them...paint and screen quickly as they cause much damage.


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## mike haney

the odor they leave in the hole attracts others so you can soon have a large colony. caulk over screen is best. good luck,mike


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## blueskybeesupply

If you leave them go too long, then the woodpeckers find them and those little holes get blasted out!


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## Hobie

Yes.... I know!


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