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Pest Index

Carpenter bee

Carpenter Bee

Binomial Name:  Xylocopa virginicaCarpenter bee, Xylocopa violacea, in front of white background

Identification:

  • Overall Length:  Adult worker is 18-20mm
  • Colour:  Adult worker resembles a bumble bee except the abdomen is almost hairless and is a metallic blue-black clour

Life Cycle:  Females will provision an average of 6 cells with a supply of pollen and a single egg.  Eggs and larvae will develop for about 36 days before the adult emerges.  The new adults will provision an old nest with pollen to feed on during bad weather and before they go into hibernation.

Behaviour:  The Carpenter bee usually excavates galleries in fascia, siding, porch beams, exterior columns, telephone poles, fence posts and treated wood.  Extensive excavation of wood members may weaken there structural soundness.  Males do not have stingers and females do not use theirs unless handled or molested.

Signs of Infestation:  Exit / Entrance holes are round and 25mm in diameter, about the size of a dime.  Unsightly streaks may be present beneath entrance holes to nests.