- Carpenter Bees are found throughout the Portland area.
- They are loud fliers and closely resemble Bumble Bees but are slightly smaller.
- They chew out a perfectly round cavity in a piece of exposed wood. Where the female lays her egg and then proceeds to support it until it pupates.
- These are solitary bees, meaning the female lays one egg per hole drilled.
- They are considered beneficial insects as they are great pollinators, but can do considerable damage to one’s home or office building.
Carpenter Bees are found throughout the Portland area. They are loud fliers and closely resemble Bumble Bees but are slightly smaller. The Carpenter Bees abdomen is also shinier and appears hairless, whereas the Bumble Bee’s abdomen appears fuzzy. Carpenter Bees are also called Drilling Bees, as they chew out a perfectly round cavity in a piece of exposed wood. Like Carpenter Ants, they don’t eat the wood, they just spit it out. In these holes the female lays her egg and then proceeds to support it until it pupates. These are solitary bees, meaning the female lays one egg per hole drilled. They are relatively harmless, as they are very unlikely to sting unless aggravated, but often one will find several of them milling about in the same area, as they tend to inhabit the same piece of wood. They are considered beneficial insects as they are great pollinators, but can do considerable damage to one’s home or office building.
