BEES

Honey Bees

Honey bees have 6 legs, 2 compound eyes made up of thousands of tiny lenses (one on each side of the head), 3 simple eyes on the top of the head, 2 pairs of wings, a nectar pouch, and a stomach. A colony of bees consists of 20,000-60,000 honeybees and one queen. Worker honey bees are female, live for about 6 weeks and do all the work. Only worker bees sting, and only if they feel threatened and they die once they sting. Queens have a stinger, but they don't leave the hive to help defend it. It is estimated that 1100 honey bee stings are required to be fatal.

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Carpenter Bees

Carpenter Bees can look like Bumble bees, large, with yellow and black patterns. they are about one inch and may have some metallic reflections ranging from dark blue, yellow, green or purple tints. Their abdomens are shiny, which are different from Bumble Bees, which have more hair. They are commonly sighted in the spring hovering like a helicopter around eaves, porch rails, and under decks. Some times carpenter bees are called “wood bees”, because they bore into wood. Carpenter Bees do not eat the wood for nutrition. Carpenter bees, as pollinators eat the wood for nutrition. Carpenter bees, as pollinators eat nectar and pollen from flowering plants.Carpenter Bees make holes about 1/2 inch in diameter. They prefer unfinished wood and can drill and create tunnels in seasoned hardwoods, softwoods, and decaying woods.

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