CARPENTER BEES

Identification, Facts, & Control

Latin Name

Xylocopa violacea

Appearance

Carpenter Bee.jpg Large > 1"long. All black, or sometimes with yellow with an oval-shaped body

Carpenter Bees

Carpenter bees are large, resembling bumblebees. They are usually black and yellow in color. Carpenter bees are solitary bees and do minor damage to wood. The nest opening in the wood is 1/2"in diameter, extending directly into the wood 1". It then turns 90 degrees and extends 4-6" with the grain of the wood. After the female carves out this nest, she puts a combination of pollen and honey deep into the bottom of it, lays one egg on top of this food mass, and seals it off, forming a cell. She continues doing this until about 6 or 8 such brood cells are formed, each containing an egg and the food mass for the hatching larva. From egg to flying adult takes about 1-3 months. Observing the bee usually leads you to the entrance hole. Look for round holes the size of a dime.

Males cannot sting; but females will sting if molested. In California, the Valley Carpenter Bee male is tan in color, and the female is black. If a homeowner has complained of large, black flying insects hovering around the outside and above the windows and has discovered large holes in ceiling rafters, this is a sure sign of an infestation of Carpenter bees. To treat for a carpenter bee infestation you should spray the wood and plug the hole.

Click on a species of bees below to learn further information.