NATIVE BEES Don’t move your roommates too far. Carpenter bees are
behemoths are incredibly strong. The giant thorax houses is simply too risky for other insects. During cold, rainy, and windy weather carpenter bees pick up the slack in pollina- tion, helping to pollinate those early fruit blooms like cher- ries, peaches and apples. Carpenter bees don’t just delicately sip nectar. At each
- quencies that trigger resonance in their head and abdomen. Known as buzz pollination, this process helps dislodge pol- fruit set and size after buzz pollination. Carpenter bees and their fuzzy cousins the bumble bees are sonication special- ists. When you spot them in and around your garden, you can grow award winning tomatoes. Carpenter bees also rob nectar. When they chance upon a
- a small drinking hole. In areas with an abundance of restric- tive blooms, other insects follow carpenter bees around, re- using these holes to feed from otherwise impossible to reach evolved to cater towards very different pollinators that don’t exist here. Plant easily accessible (shallow bloomed) native gnaw into foreign blooms for sustenance. Male carpenter bees are especially common in and around nesting or forage sites. Depending on the species, males ei- ther patrol small areas or hover in place while keeping an eye out for any passing females. Many male carpenter bees have a yellow dot on their forehead, and they will challenge any creature that ventures into their territory. No cause for alarm. The males lack a stinger and so the worst they can do is light- ly headbutt you. Studies have shown that male carpenter bees are able to recognize their normal carpenter bee neighbors. These neighbors are given extra leeway versus other trespass- ers when they venture into a rival’s area. Carpenter bee males will learn to recognize you as well if you are a constant visi- tor in their territory, moral support as you go about tedious yardwork.
And while they like to return to their natal nest, they ar-
en’t only home bodies. Carpenter bees can travel long dis- tances in search of food, water, and nesting sites. Released up to seven miles away from their nest, bees were able to make it back home based on landmarks and other cues along the route, demonstrating that they possess a complex inter- nal ‘BeePS.’ Intelligence studies on carpenter bees have been limited, however studies on their cousins the bumble bees have shown that these insects possess nifty problem-solving skills and can learn new behaviors from nestmates or even come up with their own personal solutions to obstacles.
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A male Virginia carpenter bee Xylocopa viginica
© Jami Cunnagin
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