 |
||||||||||||
|
Carpenter Bees Buzzing
|
||||||||||||
|
Taken from the B.Y.G.L. (Buckeye Yard and Garden Online) Newsletter
Contributing Authors: Pam Bennett, Joe Boggs, Cindy Meyer, Jim Chatfield, Erik Draper, Dave Dyke, Gary Gao, David Goerig, Tim Malinich, Becky McCann, Bridget Meiring, Amy Stone and Curtis Young |
||||||||||||
|
Cindy Meyers reported that carpenter bees (Xylocopa virginica) have commenced their annual heart-stopping aerial antics in southwest Ohio. This includes buzz-bombing people or hovering eye-to-eye until even the most well-informed person tends to backs away. Carpenter bees look very similar to bumblebees except their abdomen is an iridescent blue instead of being covered with black or yellow hairs.
Each spring, the newly emerged males and females begin their characteristic behavior, which if not understood, seems terrifying. While the females are busily collecting pollen and nectar wads to shove into their wood tunnels to feed their progeny, the males buzz back and forth around the area guarding their territory from other males. The males may appear to be menacing; however, they lack stingers (ovipositors). Of course, the hovering bees make easy targets for a well-aimed tennis racket; a control strategy that's also good practice for developing a wicked backhand. |
||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||
| Although carpenter bees are excellent pollinators, the females can cause extensive damage to exposed horizontal wood, particularly boards made from redwood, pine, or cedar. They drill holes measuring almost 1/2" in diameter vertically into the wood, and then they tunnel horizontally to construct larval chambers. The best strategy is to plug the holes with steel wool, caulk the holes, and then paint the wood with at least two coats of an acrylic paint. However, the holes should not be plugged until fall. Closing the "door" now with the bees inside their chambers will only result in more damage as the bees chew lateral holes to free themselves. | ||||||||||||