What are wood boring carpenter bees?
Carpenter bees (see photo right) are large, colorful wood-boring bees that look somewhat like bumble bees [picture of carpenter bee]. The difference is that bumble bees are uniformly covered with dense hairs whereas carpenter bees have the upper surface of the abdomen bare and shiny black (see What is a Bumble Bee?). Carpenter bees occasionally construct nests in exterior structural or decorative wood such as siding, fascia boards, trim, and log homes. A round hole (~1/2″ diameter) is chewed in the wood surface then a tunnel is bored, usually at 90 degrees to the entrance (see photo lower right).
