Carpenter Bees
These resemble bumble bees and are a solitary bee but house
next to one another in roof joist or wood over hangs. You can tell mating season by the bigger black drones or males flying around chasing pretty much everything that flies by them.
When I was just about 7 or 8 years old I used to tie a leg with a thread
to the drones and fly them around school. I was in 2nd or third grade. I
got sent to the principle's office for freaking out the teacher.
You can tell the drones from the females by the white on their faces. My
and my friends used to call them "Whitefaces". The Whitefaces
do not have a stinger. One time me and my family were out in the back
yard eating on a picnic table and I saw one fly around some flowers. It
landed on a flower and I grab it and it stung the heck out of my hand.
It wasn't a whiteface but a female with pollen all over it's face. I
should've known that the drones don't like to work and gather pollen
..there're just hanging around to pick up some females. They are only
alive for a short period of time during spring.
The drones do not have a stinger but the females do. They are not that aggressive but will sting if persistence occurs from intrusion
or if you grab one like I did. They are classified as a wood destroying insect.
Male Carpenter Bee in
flight
Female Carpenter Bee Gathering Pollen
Carpenter Bee Nesting Area or Gallary.
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