Don't BEE Afraid of Carpenter Bees.

Eastern Carpenter Bee (Xylocopa virginica)
In this blog, we'll investigate these gentle giants:
- how they help the earth (ecosystem services)
- why you shouldn't be afraid of them
- a simple tip to ensure they don't burrow in your wooden structures
- how to invite them and other pollinators into your backyard

I took this video at the end of May at my Burlington, Ontario home. I am in the process of converting my yard to include only native species to support native pollinators.  I only purchase nonnative plants for my pots.  Why?  Because our pollinators have evolved with native plants, shrubs and trees.  Natives provide them with high quality fuel they need to survive and thrive. The plant in the video is in a pot on my front porch: Spanish lavender, or Lavendula stoechas is native to the Mediterranean.

How Carpenter Bees Help the Earth (Ecosystem Services)
Our pollinators (insect pollinators, birds, bats) provide us with one out of every three bites of food.  Carpenter bees provide value as "great pollinators of native plants, gardens and even some crops." 
(Source: Jordan Terpstra  in "Meet Ontario's Pollinators" at https://www.uoguelph.ca/oac/news/meet-ontarios-pollinators
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Why you shouldn't be afraid of Carpenter Bees
Observe the Eastern Carpenter Bee  in the video above.  You'll notice that it sort of looks like a  bumble bee.
However, its abdomen is black and smooth (looks glossy) compared to the furry abdomen of a bumble bee.

They are not dangerous!
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• Males don't have stingers. They guard their nests by chasing away anything that comes near the nests.  But they CAN'T hurt you.  I  find them entertaining to watch.

"They patrol the territory zealously chasing away other males that venture too close. In fact, sometimes they chase away almost anything that moves, including surprised human gardeners. Fortunately, they cannot sting (only females have stingers), so there is nothing to fear and you can let them be."
(Source: Bee Basics: An Introduction to Our Native Bees by Beatriz Moisset, Ph.D. and Stephen Buchmann, Ph.D. A USDA Forest Service and Pollinator Partnership Publication
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• ​Only females sting, BUT THEY ARE GENTLE.  They won't sting unless you aggressively try to swat them.  They don't pay any attention to me in the garden, even when I approach them to take close-up photos and videos.

A simple tip to ensure they don't burrow in wooden structures
Just make sure wooden structures are painted or sealed and they will not nest there.  Ignore pest control companies that make money to poison our pollinators.

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The female uses her mandibles (jaws) to drill through wood. She creates tunnels which branch out into cells. She lays an egg in each cell and supplies it with pollen grains to feed her larvae once they hatch. Finally, she seals each cell with chewed pulp. After providing for the next generation of carpenter bees, she dies.

How attract to carpenter bees into your backyard

1. Provide them with nesting material: Carpenter bees are solitary (don't live in hives or form colonies). They nest and overwinter in various soft and hardwoods. My garden has untreated wood planks as well as a snag tree (a dead tree still rooted in the ground and upright).  Snag trees are also great for attracting woodpeckers to your garden. 
2. Plant native flowers.  Research native pollinator plants in your area.  They will provide for the nutritional needs of your native pollinators.

Help scientists collect data 
Have you seen carpenter bees in your yard?  Take pictures and post them and your observations at inaturalist.org to help scientists collect data on pollinators.