A carpenter bee can be anywhere from ¾ to 1 inch long and recognizable by their black and yellow bodies. This bee creates its nest by burrowing into wooden surfaces, usually against the grain. Although they are known to show up across the country, they have a concentrated population on the East Coast.
Carpenter bees rest during the winter and re-appear in the spring during mating season. Male carpenter bees don’t live long and are actually harmless. However, female carpenter bees have a stinger that they will use if they feel threatened. Interestingly, females can lay varying amounts of eggs, from 1 to 20. Carpenter bee eggs are larger than any other insect eggs.
You will find carpenter bees most commonly chewing throughout unpainted wood. Once they create their nests, female bees make partition cells in the wood that they use to lay their eggs. Because the bees continue to live in the same area after hatching, we find them during any time of the year.
If you’ve noticed carpenter bees in your residence, don’t hesitate; contact Amherst Exterminators.
