Carpenter Bee's taking a flower break

[BrentC]

Never seen so many carpenter bees in one place before. Counted 16 in one little area.

1.

Carpenter Bee by Brent Cameron, on Flickr

2.

Carpenter Bee by Brent Cameron, on Flickr

 

[tirediron]

Huh.... I would have thought those were just regular, old, bungle-bees. What's the difference?

 

[Jeff G]

The tool belt.

 

[Jeff G]

Nice shots Brent, our neighbor has a big vine in thier back yard that gets hundreds of them when it blooms but it's just far enough away to where I can't get a decent shot. Well done.

 

[tirediron]

The tool belt.

D'ohhhhhhhh... of course!

 

[BrentC]

Huh.... I would have thought those were just regular, old, bungle-bees. What's the difference?

They are a lot bigger then the regular bees.

 

[BrentC]

Nice shots Brent, our neighbor has a big vine in thier back yard that gets hundreds of them when it blooms but it's just far enough away to where I can't get a decent shot. Well done.

Thanks Jeff. I tend to only see individual carpenter bees and not too often. So I was surprised seeing so many almost all on one plant.

 

[smoke665]

@tirediron Carpenter Bees are a PITA for us. They bore holes into the wood of our decks, barns, etc. where they lay their eggs. The males typically hover about the nesting areas and pretend to attack anything that comes near. However it's all bluster as they don't have the ability to sting. The females can sting but rarely do unless you caught them in your hand. I could follow a live and let live with them except for the damage they do. Left unchecked they can riddle unexposed wood.

In addition to insecticide treatments, and filling the holes, I have an "electric" flyswatter, that we use to play "Bee Ball".

@BrentC nice set!! I love the colors.

 

[SquarePeg4 3]

My mom zapped herself with one of those electric fly swatters. It was really hard not to laugh at her - apparently it was super painful.

 

[SquarePeg4 3]

Brent - love the coolishcolor palette that you've got here. Very pretty.

We have a rose of sharon bush that attracts a lot of those big fat bees. Never knew what they were called. They don't bother any of us so I just leave them alone. Have not seen them anywhere near the house. We usually get a yellow jack nest or two every year so I think the exterminators would have let me know if there were other bees nesting in the eaves...

 

[smoke665]

My mom zapped herself with one of those electric fly swatters. It was really hard not to laugh at her - apparently it was super painful.

With two adult sons, it's had not to get zapped or be the one doing the zapping. Especially if there's any alcohol involved.

 

[BrentC]

@tirediron Carpenter Bees are a PITA for us. They bore holes into the wood of our decks, barns, etc. where they lay their eggs. The males typically hover about the nesting areas and pretend to attack anything that comes near. However it's all bluster as they don't have the ability to sting. The females can sting but rarely do unless you caught them in your hand. I could follow a live and let live with them except for the damage they do. Left unchecked they can riddle unexposed wood.

In addition to insecticide treatments, and filling the holes, I have an "electric" flyswatter, that we use to play "Bee Ball".

@BrentC nice set!! I love the colors.

Brent - love the coolishcolor palette that you've got here. Very pretty.

We have a rose of sharon bush that attracts a lot of those big fat bees. Never knew what they were called. They don't bother any of us so I just leave them alone. Have not seen them anywhere near the house. We usually get a yellow jack nest or two every year so I think the exterminators would have let me know if there were other bees nesting in the eaves...

Thank you both.

 

[HavToNo]

Two more excellent macros Brent.

 

[Jeff G]

I had to look it up, but the easiest way to tell a Carpenter Bee from a Bumble bee, is that a Carpenter bee has a shiny abdomen vs the Bumble bee's fuzzy abdomen. Carpenter bees are usually mostly black and the male Carpenter bee doesn't have the ability to sting.

 

[Dean_Gretsch]

I love the color tones in the first one, Brent. Very nice, vibrant colors!