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Wood bees7/14/2023 ![]() ![]() Solitary bees live near one another but tend to make nests of their own, rather than hives. Unlike honeybees or bumblebees, carpenter bees are solitary bees. What Is The Difference Between Carpenter Bees and Mason Bees? As social bees, bumblebees live together in their nests and are ruled by one queen who is the only female capable of reproducing. These underground nests can be found in burrows that had been previously constructed and inhabited by animals, or in small gaps beneath stones or planks of wood, or even in compost heaps. Bumblebees, however, tend to travel in loose clusters and fly seemingly aimlessly around while they land on different flowers and pollinate.Ĭarpenter bees live in holes that they have bored out of wood, whereas bumblebees tend to nest in burrows that they build underground. When not out pollinating, solitary male carpenter bees tend to hover while searching for a mate, and then to dive abruptly and chase the female of interest. Bumblebees, however, are covered in thick fuzzy hair and have black and yellow bands of hair.Ĭarpenter bees and bumblebees also differ in their pattern of flying. In carpenter bees, the abdomen is more clearly pronounced, likely due to the lack of fuzzy hair covering the dark and shiny abdomen. ![]() The easiest way to distinguish between the two types of bees is by looking at the abdomen. What Is The Difference Between Wood Bees and Bumblebees?īoth large carpenter bees and bumblebees are approximately the same size and can be similar in color. The back of the abdomen of the large carpenter bee is smooth rather than hairy although there tend to be yellow hairs on the legs and thorax of the bees. Both genera are darkly colored (black or dark green) and can have a somewhat metallic coloring as well, ranging from blue to purple. The more commonly encountered carpenter bee is from the genera Xylocopa. The large carpenter bee tends to be one to two and a half centimeters in length, while the small carpenter bee is generally less than one centimeter in length. There are two genera of carpenter (wood) bees, called Xylocopa and Ceratina the Xylocopa carpenter bees are large while the Ceratina carpenter bees are small. With all of the buzzing and flitting around, it is not always easy to differentiate between different types of bees. Wood bees, also known as carpenter bees, are a type of bee named for the way they make their home: by burrowing into wood. ![]()
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