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Posted by on Dec 10, 2015 in TellMeWhy |

What Is a Carpenter Bee?

What Is a Carpenter Bee?

Carpenter bees are solitary bees that build their nests in wood. The female carpenter bee digs a tunnel in a log or other dry wood with her sharp, strong jaws.

Then she fills the tunnel with cells made of wood chips glued together with bee saliva. Into each cell she puts a supply of nectar and pollen, and one egg.

When she has completed the nest, she seals it shut and flies away, never to return. There are typically 6 to 8 chambers created by the female.

The bees that hatch from these eggs eat the stored food and grow into adult bees. Carpenter bees range in size from ΒΌ of an inch long to as large as a bumblebee.

Carpenter bees resemble bumblebees in both size and appearance, but are not social insects.

Content for this question contributed by Philip Trach, resident of Easton, Northampton County, Pennsylvania, USA