Carpenter Bees

People often mistake carpenter bees for bumblebees, which look quite similar. Bumblebees (genus Bombus) nest in the ground, usually in abandoned rodent nests, and live in social communities. Carpenter bees (genus Xylocopa) are solitary bees that burrow into wood. If you see a bee that looks like a bumblebee emerging from a hole in your porch, it’s a carpenter bee, not a bumblebee. You can differentiate the two by examining the dorsal (upper) side of the abdomen. If it’s shiny and hairless, it’s a carpenter bee. A bumblebee, by contrast, has a hairy abdomen.