When male carpenter bees go on the defensive, they often fly very close to your face and “stare” at you, she explains. Naturally, you might take this as an act of aggression.

Male and female carpenter bees are becoming active after spending the winter in last year’s tunnels. They resemble bumble bees but have shiny, bare abdomens; bumble bee abdomens are “fuzzy.” ...

The female carpenter bee, born last year, begins by drilling a small round entrance hole. After excavating a 1-inch tunnel, she takes a 90-degree turn and continues.

Female carpenter bees typically tunnel into wood to collect pollen and lay their eggs, often returning to the same tunnel each year. These tunnels can be found in trees, picnic tables, decks or ...

Nest sites and host plants of Xylocopa fimbriata in southeastern lowland Mexico are recorded. In addition to male behavior, female-female interactions at a nest site are described for the first time ...