3-page infosheet on the Carpenter Bee with life cycle, behavior and links to further information. Carpenter Bees feed on a wide range of flowers. Easily recognize the male Carpenter Bee with its white face.

1. Xylocopa virginica
Carpenter Bee
www.greenstem.us
Car p en t er Bee Lif e Cy cle
- Carpenter Bees emerge in springtime, April and May. A female Carpenter Bee
looks for a nesting site in solid wood (not a hollow plant stem). The Carpenter Bee
may select cedar or softwood decks, poles, porches.
- Male and female Carpenter Bees fly vertically together in a mating dance.
- Xylocopa, Carpenter Bees, defend their territory around the nest. Males will try to
keep away predators: people, pets, hummingbirds, other insects and male
Carpenter Bees. Males die shortly after mating.
- The female Carpenter Bee uses her strong mandibles to carve out a nest, about a
body-length deep. Then she turns 90-degrees to chew with grain of wood.
- The female bee does not eat chewed wood. She pushes chewed wood out of the
nest, or uses a wood-paste as cell-dividers, between the laid eggs.
- The female Carpenter Bee collects pollen and nectar to stock the each cell in the
nest with 'bee bread'.
- The mother Carpenter Bee meets her young as they emerge in the late summer,
and will guard and feed them.
- The young adult bees over-winter together in the former nest tunnel.
- The cycle continues with Carpenter Bees emerging the following spring and
looking for a nesting site, or a female will re-use the nest, and tunnel further into
the timber.
Photo by Sam Droege, USGS

2. Xylocopa virginica
Carpenter Bee
www.greenstem.us
Car p en t er Bee Ch ar act er ist ics
- Large dark bees, similar to bumble bees
- Male Carpenter Bee has a white face. The female Carpenter Bee's face is black
- Large eyes enable the male Carpenter Bee to detect motion well, and defend his
territory (female with nest and young) from other males and predators.
Males may hover around people trying to frighten them away.
- Generalists, foraging on a wide variety of flowers
- Tend to visit one type of flower at a time (flower constancy) before moving onto
another type of flower
- Will 'steal' nectar from long-tubed flowers such as Penstemon, and honeysuckle by
drilling into the back of the flower, thereby not pollinating that flower. This can be
a significant hindrance to pollination by other insects, as no nectar in a flower
reduces its attraction. Many Carpenter Bees can significantly reduce pollination for
a crop, such as Blueberries
- Remember males do not sting, and females rarely do.
Xylocopa means 'woodworker' in Greek and describes this bee's ability to chew its nest in timber.
Photo by Sam Droege, USGSThe male Carpenter Bee Xylocopa virgnica has a white face

3. Xylocopa virginica
Female Carpenter Bee and a Tunnel Nest
www.greenstem.us
Resou r ces
Interested to find out more about different kinds of bees?
There are more than 4000 species of bee native to the US.
The Bees in Your Backyard, 2016 by Joseph S. Wilson and Olivia M. Carril is an
introduction to bee lifestyles and preferred habitats.
How can you help support bees and other pollinators in your neighborhood?
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A f em ale Car p en t er Bee b eg in s
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