Best Bee Brothers Bee Blog

Carpenter bees can come in a variety of colors depending upon where you live. Even though there are a variety of carpenter bees there are a handful of characteristics to identify a carpenter bee. The diagram above shows the following defining physical characteristics of a carpenter bee: Length: Typically 1 inch long Legs: 4 fuzzy black legs Mandibles: Used for digging through wood Abdomen: Hard, black and shiny Thorax: Mid-section of the body with a fuzzy texture Antenna: How the bee senses or smells things The shiny hard abdomen is the most distinguishing physical trait of the carpenter bee regardless...

When you think of bees, images of a beehive teeming with honey might come to mind. But the reality is that most bees do not make honey or live in hives. In fact, 85% of the world’s bee population is made up of bees that do not live in hives or colonies. These creatures are also known as solitary bees. The most commonly known solitary bee is the mason bee.   Luckily, we can tell the difference between mason and carpenter bees because there are many physical and behavioral differences between the two. There are many different types of mason...

If you were plagued by carpenter bees during the spring and summer, fall is the perfect time to fill their holes for a carpenter bee free spring. Carpenter Bee Holes. During the fall and winter nests, are not active. The female carpenter bees have finished their nesting duties and passed away in their tunnel. Filling the holes accomplishes two tasks: It stops any larva laid in the nest from emerging in the spring. It stops carpenter bee young who are scouting for a new home at springtime from choosing your holes. There are a variety of ways to successfully fill...

Should you use DEET or choose a DEET-free alternative to keep bugs at bay? The debate tends to be a hot one these days. First, a little history. DEET is the name for N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide, an active ingredient in many insect repellents. It was initially developed by the US Department of Agriculture for the military and then was registered for commercial use in the US in 1957. DEET was one of the first chemicals widely used to protect against mosquitoes and, because of its effectiveness, has been a popular choice ever since. (1,2) This is an example of a product that...

Have you ever wondered about the brownish stains near carpenter bees’ nests? This unsightly stain is carpenter bee poop. Unfortunately, this unsightly stain is from carpenter bee droppings – to be blunt, carpenter bee poop. These stains are just another reason to treat those nests and prevent future carpenter bees from invading your home! Carpenter bees like to keep a clean nest. In order to do that, the females dig tunnels using their mandibles to vibrate against the wood grain to carve out small granules that resemble sawdust. Then the bees push out their excretions and the wood shavings to...