[phersbees]

I went out side a few mins ago and hear a loud buzzing nosies from one of the hive went and looked there was about 15 carpenter bees flying and 4 balled over with bees in entrence. Are these carpenter bee something to worry about there was a bunch of dead ones around hive all the time. Never seen them attack usely one or two not 15 or so.

 

[Beeonefarms]

Uh they would like a house also ..

 

[phersbees]

bees said "Not In My House" :no:


honey bees killed them all wish I had a camera. Epic battle, but team carpenter bee dead. I counted 12 dead. they made big balls around them then after the killed them they dragged the dead bodys away.

 

[MJC417]

I can't imagine carpenter bees attacking anything besides each other (males are territorial). Can you post a photo of the died bee?

 

[phersbees]

I don't have a camara but they are about as big as a queen bumble bee off white dot on head shiney solid black abdomen yellow thorax

 

[MJC417]

Well I guess it could be carpenter bees then, the males do have a square white patch on the forehead. In the north they are harmless but do damage to houses. They drill a few holes in my old barn which I dont mind but never bother my hives.

 

[phersbees]

http://youtu.be/2dGA379dpl4

watch this here another one getting balled

 

[GaryG74]

Had something like that here about a month ago (west Alabama). Found 11 or 12 dead carpenter bees in front of one of my hives. Didn't see more than the normal number of daily dead honey bees so the honey bees kicked butt without too many losses.

 

[MJC417]

Just seems unusual to me, male carpenter bees have no stinger and the females are solitary.

 

[Colleen O.]

I saw a few scouting my hives about a month ago. One drilled a hole in the bottom of a nuc that had a colony I was taking to install in a hive at a friends place in the country. I noticed the hole when I went to check the hive prior to transport so I slapped some tape over it to get them through. When the nuc was empty I stapled screen mesh over the bottom. I could tell there was still something in the wood working but opted not put mesh over the wood in the inside and to install the split into it as I had planned. A few days later I found a dead carpenter bee in the nuc. I've got 1/2" screen mesh over my entrance holes so I know it was the one from the wood.

I didn't see this behavior last year or the year before.

 

[waynesgarden]

Interesting thread. They are one of our native pollinators. Sounds like you have a lot of these nesting nearby and they are getting the worst from annoying their neighbors.

Shouldn't be a problem for the hive, except carpenter bees do tend to litter the bottom boards with itty-bitty beer cans.

Wayne

 

[shannonswyatt]

They were crazy heavy here a month ago. I don't remember see as many as I have this spring.

 

[Phoebee]

One of my hives has an orange letter A on it as a visual marker. Several times over the last few weeks I've seen a lone carpenter bee resting at the top of the A, always in the same spot.

I've had the medium entrance reducer installed, but finally pulled it off Friday. Yesterday I noticed the carpenter bee was back, and watched as it checked out the entrance, touched down on the landing board, and scurried into the now wide open entrance. I wondered how this would turn out for about two seconds. The invader came racing back out, shot off the landing board and hive stand, crashed to the gravel below, and took off across the ground. A worker bee was attached to the left side of his abdomen near the thorax. The big bee raced to the bear fence and crawled under, and then finally took off for the woods, with the worker still attached.

I doubt we'll ever see either one again. A memorial service will be held this evening in honor of the brave little bee who sacrificed herself against an intruder that must have been around ten times her weight.