Hobbies And Interests
Size
A carpenter bee is typically 3/4 of an inch to 1 inch in length.
Color
Orange, white or yellowish hairs cover the middle section, or thorax, of a carpenter bee. The end of the bee, the abdomen, is bare and black, and it shines with a metallic sheen.
Females vs. Males
The male bee has white head markings, while the female has an all-black head.
Stingers
The female carpenter bee has a stinger; the male does not. The female rarely stings unless she becomes aggravated at very close range. The males will try to defend their home by dive-bombing an intruder.
Carpenter vs. Bumble Bees
The main difference between carpenter bees and bumble bees is that carpenter bees lack the thick yellow abdominal hairs of the bumble bee and the pollen-collecting "baskets" on the back legs of bumble bees.
Effects
The carpenter bee inhabits wood, but causes little structural damage unless generations of these bees live in the same place, continually widening their tunnels. Pine, cedar and redwood wood are favorite targets for the carpenter bee.