As I'm sure everyone has noticed, bees are out in full force in Ohio. I caught a few of them in the Arboretum the other day, although the wind made for some difficult photography. Just above is the underside of a honey bee (Apis mellifera) that was collecting pollen. You can see the heart-shaped head and barrel-shaped abdomen that are helpful in identifying honey bees. I think this one actually stood still for me because the wind was blowing it against the flower petal! Nonetheless, she sure has a large bundle of pollen to take back to her sisters. The top photo is a female large carpenter bee (Xylocopa virginica) on a dandelion.
I HAVE NOT HEARD OF A CARPENTER BEE. HOW IS IT DIFFERENT FROM A HONEY BEE?
ReplyDeleteWell Sue, as you can see in the pic the large carpenter bee is quite a bit bigger than a honey bee. It resembles a bumble bee, but is easy to identify because it has a shiny black abdomen, whereas a bumble bee's abdomen is covered with hair. Unlike honey bees which nest together in a hive, carpenter bees are like most other native bees in that they nest alone (solitary bees). It is called a carpenter bee because it bores a hole in wood to make its nest and lay eggs. You may see them making nests in the eaves of your roof, a patio, or other wooden structures outside. Often you will find a community of carpenter bees with nests in the same roof, but each hole is a solitary nest. Like most bees, they are beneficial for pollinating your flower and food gardens. There are also small carpenter bees, which are much smaller, bluish-green in color, and are more likely to nest inside smaller stems. Check out the bee ID guide on our lab website: www.oardc.ohio-state.edu/ale/images/Bee_ID_guide.pdf
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