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juju's petals
Citizen
Username: Jujus_petals
Post Number: 245
Registered: 5-2003
| | Posted on Wednesday, April 19, 2006 - 12:44 pm: | 
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I'm pretty sure that the enormous bees buzzing around the wooden part of our garage are carpenter bees. Don't they come out in the spring? They are a little freaky looking, but I guess I'm hoping they either aren't aggressive or don't sting. How do you know the difference between a hornet (gasp!) and a carpenter bee? How do you find the carpenter bee nest? And a hornet's nest looks more like a wasp nest, right? Kind of gray and papery? |
notehead
Supporter
Username: Notehead
Post Number: 3176
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, April 19, 2006 - 1:15 pm: |
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J.P., check out the Search feature and look for carpenter bees. We've had some long and informative threads about them. (The big fat dudes are cb's, hornets/wasps aren't as fat, and there is no central nest, they just keep burrowing up into the wood where they live and lay their eggs.) |
Jgberkeley
Citizen
Username: Jgberkeley
Post Number: 4537
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, April 19, 2006 - 1:32 pm: |
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no |
Bailey
Citizen
Username: Baileymac
Post Number: 247
Registered: 3-2005
| | Posted on Wednesday, April 19, 2006 - 1:35 pm: |
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I think the males don't sting.. females do.
I'm not gonna try to figure out their sex though. |
Jgberkeley
Citizen
Username: Jgberkeley
Post Number: 4540
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, April 19, 2006 - 4:38 pm: |
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Let me be more detailed.
Females do not sting, unless your are in their face messing with them. You really have to do a lot to tick one off to get them to sting.
Males are not able to sting.
Carpenter bees are large like a bumble bee but have black shiny abdomens. They nest in holes drilled into the wood of your house, porch or decks.
Bumble bees have yellow banded abdomens, and nest in holes in the ground. |
Pdg
Citizen
Username: Pdg
Post Number: 875
Registered: 5-2004
| | Posted on Wednesday, April 19, 2006 - 11:27 pm: |
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http://www.bugspray.com/article/carpenterbees.html
You will learn more than you ever wanted to about carpenter bees. Enjoy. |
themp
Supporter
Username: Themp
Post Number: 2799
Registered: 12-2001
| | Posted on Thursday, April 20, 2006 - 10:41 am: |
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There is no reason to fear carpenter bees. Just let them be. They don't sting (males don't) and even though they buzz around, they aren't interested in you in the way a yellowjacket might be. As for damage, they don't eat through paint generally. They put little holes in the underside of decks and deck rails, but it would really take a while for that the to amount to anything. UV's will do in your deck long before that.
This article is a little more realistic. See the second Carpenter bee entry "Drone Carpenter bees". Teach you kids not to fear and eradicate nature.
http://www.pollinator.com/identify/whatsbuzzin.htm |
Pdg
Citizen
Username: Pdg
Post Number: 877
Registered: 5-2004
| | Posted on Thursday, April 20, 2006 - 7:56 pm: |
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http://www.bugspray.com/catalog/products/page276.html
The link above will show you pictures of the carpenter bee's entry hole, and it also shows you how long the nest chamber is in one particular nest. They say the chamber lengths range from 1 several feet.
Carpenter bees tend to return to the place they were born, and make new chambers if their birth home is already occupied, which means more holes and nest chambers every year.
And in my personal experience, bees absolutely will make holes through painted wood. If they really like a particular wood they will go through new paint.
It's an annual fight - good luck! |
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