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Carpenter Bee adult
(John Obermeyer, Purdue University) |
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Common Name: Carpenter Bee - adult
See also: damage Scientific Name: Apidae: Xylocopa virginica Status: beneficial as pollinators but can be a pest of wooden strucutres Damaging Stage: adult Biology: A carpenter bees closely resembles a bumble bee except that the upper surface of its abdomen is bare and shiny black, and lacks the hair that is so distinctive in bumble bees. Carpenter bees overwinter as adults in wood nests. They emerge in the spring and mate. Females excavate tunnels in wood and lay their eggs within a series of small cells. Pollen is brought to the nest for the larvae to feed on until they emerge as adults in late summer. There is one generation per year. |