Nest of a Valley Carpenter Bee
(06/02/2008) What bug would make this hole?
Hi,
I live in Southern California. Over the weekend, I noticed sawdust on a bougainvillea plant in my backyard. It runs along a concrete wall that borders my neighbors property. The sawdust was the result of these perfectly round, pencil erasure sized holes which have been recently dug into the plant. What bug would do this? Thanks,
Chuck



Hi Chuck,
This is the nest of a Valley Carpenter Bee. The large black female bee makes and provisions the nest. The male bee is a lovely golden color. The Valley Carpenter Bee is an important native pollinating species, and the presence of this nest will not do any lasting harm to your bougainvillea.

Thank you so much for your informative reply. I am pleased your site exists. In explaining the harmlessness of this important native pollinator, you have helped me from making a grave, unnecessary mistake of adding a systemic poison to my bougainvillea the way a member of the Home Depot gardening staff suggested to protect it from "wood boring beetles". I'm glad I had the presence of mind to contact you but I am more pleased at your willingness to share your expertise on this subject and the timeliness of your answer. Thanks again,
Chuck
Monrovia, CA

Eastern Carpenter Bee
(04/28/2008) Carpenter Bee in Flight, New Hope, PA
I was able to get some pretty neat action shots of this carpenter bee as it kept returning to the same area to hover.  I thought you might enjoy the photo.
Tamar



Hi Tamar,
Thank you for submitting your photo of an Eastern Carpenter Bee, Xylocopa virginica.

Male Valley Carpenter Bee
(04/13/2008) This isn't a bug, it's an alien!
I love your website.  I've always been fascinated by the strange and wonderful world of creepy crawlies.  What is this bug?  My girlfriend had a nighttime rendezvous with it in her garage.  She lives in Southern California. Thanks,
Joel



Hi Joel,
This isn't an alien, it is a native (to Southern California) male Valley Carpenter Bee, Xylocopa varipuncta. We saw our first male Valley Carpenter Bee yesterday flying around our oak tree sapling in a territorial manner. Females of the species are a rick black color and are slightly larger.

Male Valley Carpenter Bee
(03/24/2008) Grizzly Bee?
Bugman,
This thing has been flying around a dedicated area of a guava tree outside my window all day without taking a rest.  It has to be 2 inches long...   What is it?  I live in San Diego, CA. 
TN



Hi TN,
This is one of our favorite harbingers of spring in Southern California, the male Valley Carpenter Bee. The golden male bees with green eyes fly for a short period of time in the spring and they have a rapid aggressive flight. The black female bees look like a different species. they have a more plodding flight and they are longer lived.

Male Valley Carpenter Bee
(12/04/2007) can you please identify this bug?
Hello,
We found this bug in our garden near the beach in southern California. Would you be able to identify it for us? Thanks for your help!
Lindsey



Hi Lindsey,
What a wonderful "up close and personal" image of a Male Valley Carpenter Bee you have sent our way. Female Valley Carptenter Bees are a rich black color.

Male Carpenter Bee
(11/30/2007) Another bug to identify. Sorry. But its super weird!
I was in Acapulco in mid-November.  There were a bunch of these guys flying around our house.  They are fairly large, about 1.5 inches long.  They make a loud noise when they fly around.  There were a couple of dark colored ones and this copper colored one.  They hung out in the palm tree thatch on the roof of the patio.  I asked the houseman about them and he said that they nest or eat the thatch.  He also said that they were called 'abehoron'(sp?) if that helps.
Brian



Hi Brian,
This is a male Carpenter Bee, possibly the Valley Carpenter Bee. Female Valley Carpenter Bees are the dark insects. The female builds a nest by tunneling into wood. She then provisions the nest with pollen and nectar and lays eggs. The adults feed on pollen and nectar. There was probably a nest in the wood supporting the thatch.

Male Valley Carpenter Bee
(06/12/2007) What Is this
Hi Mr. Bugman,
Could you help me identify this critter?  It is as large as the biggest woodcutter bee, but never seems to behave like a bee.  We see it annually in the spring in San Jose California.  It only appears in the afternoons once the temperature hits 70 degrees F, or more (never less).  It takes up a station in a spindly bush where it charts out an erratic course and constantly flies in, and through, the bush.  I have never seen one land, it just flies constantly, making picture taking a challenge.  I have never seen it engage in any feeding behavior, sipping nectar from flowers, munching on leaves or even chasing or catching other insects.  Seems to have no stinger or proboscis.  The wings are clear.  There are several that have appeared this year, but each stakes out a plant and flies sentry duty around it, chasing other examples away.  They seem partial to blueberry bushes and plants in that family, though this one was seen near a dwarf apple tree.  They never appear when the plant is fruiting, however.  I took this picture about a month ago, and this seems about the end of the season for spotting them.  I can not detect any coloration on the clear wings, but they do appear to be veined.  Can you help with the identification? Thanks,
Bill Knickel



Hi Bill,
This is a male Valley Carpenter Bee, Xylocopa varipuncta. The female is a robust black bee and the much shorter lived male is this lovely golden color.

Male Valley Carpenter Bee
(05/06/2007) golden bumble bee??
Hi!,
I took pictures of this guy today, he is as big as a bumble bee, but golden with green eyes! He sure loved all the pollen! Can you tell me what type of bee he is? Thanks,
Amber
Madera California



Hi Amber,
This is our featured Bug of the Month, the Valley Carpenter Bee. The male bee is golden like your example, and the female bee is black. We have not seen any male bees in our yard yet this year, but the females are very busy gathering pollen from our sweet peas and honeysuckle. We photographed a female bee today and will be posting that image after we answer some of our readers' questions.

Female Valley Carpenter Bee
(05/06/2007)
We photographed the female Valley Carpenter Bee covered in pollen as she gathered nectar from our sweet peas. When she is gathering the pollen from the sweet peas, the blossoms pistel pushes up through the petals and caresses the bee, and is fertilized by the pollen trapped on the bees fuzzy body.

Male Valley Carpenter Bee
(03/13/2007) I can't find it...
...and I don't know how your readers get such clear closeup photos! I just found a (dead) fuzzy golden winged beetle-looking bug in the driveway. I'm attaching a couple of also fuzzy photos.
Richey and Lee Grude
Sunnyvale CA



Hi Richey and Lee,
This is a male Valley Carpenter Bee. The golden males are very short lived. The black female bees live much longer. There are currently 3 females busily gathering nectar from our wisteria which has just begun to bloom.
Regarding your problems with focus on your digital camera: Many digital cameras have a macro feature for close-ups. We would strongly recommend enrolling in a digital photography class at your nearby Community College. At Los Angeles City College, we offer a beginning digital photograpy course and many people who just want to learn to use their own digital cameras more competantly enroll in the course. They also benefit from close association with dedicated studentw who want to make photography their career.

Valley Carpenter Bee Male
(12/08/2006) Albino Carpenter Female??
I was relaxing on my back patio in San Jose CA when this 1in+ bee fell, landing on it's back I put the oak leaf on it so that it could turn itself over then ran inside to get my camera. I was very thankful that it didn't fly away when I got back. I was able to get 3 decent pictures before it decided to leave. Any help identifying this green eyed beauty would be appriciated.
Michael Blair



Hi Michael,
This beauty is a normally colored Male Valley Carpenter Bee. The species exhibits sexual dimorphism, with the females being blue-black and the males golden with green eyes. The males are generally short lived, nervous active creatures. We usually see them in the spring here in Los Angeles.

Male Valley Carpenter Bee
(08/07/2006) Golden Bee on Don Juan Rose
This bee seemed to be coming out of a pupae ? state since it couldn't fly at the time these pictures were taken. I live in Tucson, AZ. and I also have a nest of giant Carpenter Bees in my back yard. Although they are black and do not appear to have a stinger. Could this be a youngster or a Queen? Thought you might like to see the pictures. I know you guys are busy! This was just a curiosity not an emergency. Sincerely,
Steve Dennett



Hi Steve,
The Valley Carpenter Bee, Xylocopa varipunctata, is sexually dimorphic. The female is the large black bee you mention, and the male is the lovely golden bee in your photo. These bees are found in California, Arizona and Baja California Mexico.

Male Carpenter Bees
(05/10/2006) what kind of bee is this?
I live in San Jose. These are the biggest bees i have ever seen.
jay



Hi Jay,
Male Valley Carpenter Bees are golden while females are blue-black. Males are short lived and fly in the spring.

a pair of Carpenter Bees from Texas
(03/13/2006) Carpenter Bees
I bet you guys have fun on your sight. I thought you might like the attached photo of a male and female carpenter bee from El Paso, TX. The differing colors are great. I believe them to be a Xylocopa species. According to John L. Neff of the Central Texas Melittological Institute in Austin, it is either X. varipuncta (your Valley Carpenter Bee) or more likely, X. mexicanorum, given distribution records. The picture was taken on Feb 19, 2005, which is a bit early for them to be out and about (they usually show up, based on my recollection, about April and May). They were rather lethargic for quite some time despite that it was not cold (upper 70s that day). The tree is a "Mexican Elder", my wife tells me a Sambucus mexicana, though she is not sure. The site is: El Paso, El Paso County, Texas, 2 miles n. of downtown.
Glenn Davis



Hi Glenn,
Thank you so much for sending in the gorgeous photo.

Carpenter Bee
(08/11/2004) Need help identifying beetle species
Hi there…
I was looking at your beetle database trying to identify this one. At first I thought it’s part of Dynastes tityus female, then I notice that the back is totally different. It’s a big one though. I would say at least 2”.
Regards,
Amrul Isham Ismail



Hi Amrul Isham Ismail,
You don't have a beetle at all, but what appears to be a Carpenter Bee. We really like your action photos.

Carpenter Bee
(08/05/2004)
Hi,
I am scratching all over after seeing the pictures of the bugs on your site... ;-) My boys caught a bug today and put it in a jar (boys will be boys) and asked me what it was. Now, I am no bug woman so I found you on the web.... It's got three pairs of fuzzy black legs, Two wings that are a shiny blueish-green. Its body is in three parts. It's got two mandibles (is that what those things on the mouth are called??). It looks like a giant fuzzy spider/bee!! I am reading this and I can't
believe it!!! Well, I hope I have given enough info for you to start identifying this thing in a jar right next to me!!!!!! (eeek!)
Thanks,
Cynthia

Hi Cynthia,
Might be a Carpenter Bee. All insects have
six legs and three body parts, so that is a general description. Bees are often hairy, so your guess might be correct.

Thanks, I don't think it's a carpenter bee cause it is much bigger (2.5 to 3 cm).  The body (the third part) is like a shiny black slinky and is fuzzy on the edges.  I tried to take pictures of it, here is one : Boy, what a mommy will do for her boys, and thank god there are people who have the info!!
Thanks again,
cynthia



Hi again Cynthia,
We are fairly sure that is a Carpenter Bee. Don't know where you are writing from or what the species is.

Dear Ben Fineburg,
Yes, we are down due to heavy traffic, thanks in part to the USA Today Hot Site selection on 7 June. We have just paid for an upgrade and expect to be back up within 24 hours. Your bees look similar, but slenderer than our California Carpenter Bees. It is possible that a female dug a burrow and her brood has recently emerged. Young bees will rest awhile before taking flight. Carpenter Bees can cause considerable damage to wood, but they generally are not aggressive and are reluctant to sting. They are solitary bees, meaning they do not form a hive proper. A female will excavate a burrow in the wood and lay several dozen eggs. Like I said, your specimens look slender, but they could be Xylocopa virginica or a close relative.

Hi Blondi,
My first guess would be a Carpenter Bee. the females are black and buzz. They burrow into telephone poles to nest. While large and loud, they are not aggressive and rarely sting.

Valley Carpenter Bee Female
(04/24/2004)
The black Female Valley Carpenter Bees have been having a field day on our sweet peas and honey suckle.

(04/08/2004) Valley Carpenter Bee and White Lined Sphinx Hornworm
Thanks for your article identifying the "fuzzy blonde bees" that have been patrolling our hillside for the last week. I'm so glad my Yahoo search came up with your page. It was very hard to find any info on anything but black carpenter bees, even in our 3 or 4 insect field guides only one mentioned that carpenter bees could be coloured differently.
We have a current troop of about 5 "blonde boys" and as of yet, no sign of their black female counterparts.
I've attached a jpg of a larvae we have found here lately. Have never seen it before in 7 years... Now we've seen two, both striped with anal horns. One, in the creek, was much darker than this one, but on both the horn and the mouthparts are gold. We have very few domestic plants around our cabin in the National Forest, but tons of nightshade. Could these be hornworms of some type? They are quite lovely to behold, but a very odd find here.
Thanks,
V Novo



Dear V Novo,
The male Valley Carpenter Bees, Xylocopa varipuncta, are much shorter lived than the females. I have been seeing female bees this spring, visiting my Honey Suckle as well as the Wisteria.
Your caterpillar is a White Lined Sphinx or Striped Morning Sphinx, Hyles lineata, a beautiful moth with a three inch wingspan. I have been seeing adult moths on the USC campus, resting in the eaves of the outdoor hallways near the art building. They have an almost infinite list of food plants, but are very fond of fuschia.

Dear Daniel,
      Perhaps you can help me figure out the answer to the perennial question: What's That Bug? It's hard to draw this bug. It was moving so fast and very erratically and it was extremely LOUD buzzing and it swerved towards me as if it were drunk! I drew it actual size--to the best of my knowledge.


Dear Bugged by Buzzing Behemoth,
      To the best of my knowledge, you have had an encounter with a female Valley Carpenter Bee (Xylocopa varipuncta). These very large (1 inch) bees are so named because they bore into wood, forming tunnel-like nests for the rearing of young. Telephone poles and fences are often attacked. The Valley Carpenter Bee has earned itself a bad reputation because of its formidable size and habit of "buzzing" people. The green-eyed male is light brown with golden hairs and looks velvety. The female is a shiny black with bronze reflections on the wings. The female bees can sting, but do so very reluctantly, causing only mild pain.

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
     Late in the afternoon on Labor Day, while preparing for Diorama Club, I noticed a very large, very shiny female Valley Carpenter Bee buzzing loudly and crawling around on a dead branch of my carob tree. I also noticed a perfectly round hole in her proximity. Issuing from the hole was additional buzzing. In the spring, a female VCB had been seen in the vicinity. At that time the honeysuckle was in full bloom along the street, and female VCB's were often found lapping up nectar. Could it be that I was witnessing the emergence of her brood from the tunnel she had dug for them? I hoped if I watched long enough, I would get to see one of the males. The sexual dimorphism that occurs in the VCB is quite extreme, and a Casual Observerü would probably not realize that the two very different insects being observed belonged, in fact, to one and the same species.       On the recent AH field trip to the Entomology Research Museum in Riverside, I asked our knowledgeable guide "Why do I see only female VCB's at my house?" He informed me that the males are very short lived. It seems a male VCB's only purpose in life is to mate, after which he dies, leaving the black widow bee (or more politically correct "bereaved bee of color" to fend for herself and care for her brood. My bee had done a good job as the second of her brood (at least the second that I observed), also a female, crawled from the hole. The first female was now about ten feet up the tree and resting before taking her maiden voyage on brand new wings. There was still buzzing issuing from the hole (slightly smaller than a dime, and very round) and those hated Argentine Sugar Ants (Iridomyrmex humilis) were beginning to swarm. I was in the midst of a melodrama of epic proportions as the ants began to descend into the hole, obviously sensing a meal. After more time elapsed, a groggy male, still wet after emerging from his pupa stage, crawled weakly from the hole as ants clung to his legs and scampered across his back. There was not much he could do but become ant bait, so I felt compelled to intervene. I nudged him onto a twig, and moved him off of the tree and onto a short stool on the veranda. One by one, I plucked the ants that were biting his legs until I had removed them all.
      By this time, his two sisters had flown the coop and night had fallen. Lisa arrived at 8:00 PM so we could go to Diorama Club, and I asked her to photograph my lovely trauma victim. I checked on him at midnight, after returning home, and then moved him, twig and all, to the back yard which gets morning sun. He was still on the twig at 10:00 AM when I had to leave for work, and my hopes of his survival started to fall. I rejoiced when I returned twelve hours later to no sign of my rescued bee.