Best Bee Brothers Bee Blog — Bug Facts

Are They Carpenter Bees or Mud Daubers? Not sure what’s buzzing around your property? We get this question a lot, so let’s take a look at how to identify each. To control wood-boring bees, our carpenter bee traps are highly effective, but ONLY for catching carpenter bees! While both male and female carpenter bees have black heads, the mail has a light marking on his face. What Does a Carpenter Bee Look Like? First of all, they are BIG! Carpenter bees are typically one inch long. They are often confused with bumblebees. Male and female carpenter bees look similar, but...

Despite their imposing size and capacity for swift, repeated stings, hornets and other wasps are not the top predators in their ecosystem. While these winged defenders of the nest are not to be taken lightly, there are myriad insects and animals that will gladly make a meal out of them given the chance. Let’s take a closer look at the hidden helpers keeping your backyard free of hornets and other wasps.  What Eats Hornets and Other Wasps? You might be surprised to find that despite the creatures’ fierce reputation, the list of natural predators for wasps is actually quite long....

One question we get all the time is how to tell the difference between wasps and hornets. All hornets are wasps, but not all wasps are hornets. In that sense, the term “wasp” refers to a broader category of the Vespidae scientific family. In the US the most common species of social wasps you’re likely to encounter are yellow jackets, hornets and paper wasps. Note: Social wasps are different from solitary wasps (great black wasp). We don’t discuss solitary wasps here. At a glance, paper wasps, hornets and yellow jackets may look and act very similarly. They can all be...

Carpenter bees are known for their ability to cause damage to wooden structures by drilling holes to create tunnels. The bees are relatively harmless to humans, but can be a concerning nuisance. It’s possible to identify the existence of carpenter bees by finding their shed exoskeletons before they damage your home or other structures. Read more to find out about this molting process and the anatomy of the carpenter bee.  Yes, carpenter bees do molt. In order to grow, they have to molt their exoskeleton, a hard outer shell that provides structure, protection and support for the bee’s body.1 There...

Identifying and Treating Wood for Wood Eating Insects If you’ve ever wondered which bugs leave piles of sawdust behind or which bugs eat wood, there are ways to identify these destructive pests, based on their behavior, their physical appearance, and even on the trails they leave behind. In the United States, there are three primary wood eating insects that cause structural damage.  Termites Carpenter Ants Carpenter Bees If you suspect you are dealing with any of these three pests, it might take some detective work to identify which wood-boring insect it is. Here are some clues that will help.  The...