Carpenter bees (Xylocopa) are a species of bee that burrows into dead or decaying wood to build nests. While not as destructive as termites, Carpenter Bees can still cause extensive structural damage if left unchecked over time.
Female carpenter bees often create new tunnels in wood to lay eggs, or enlarge and reuse existing ones. Unfortunately, both methods can cause extensive structural damage to wood over time.
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Pollen & Nectar
Pollen is a fine powder containing microspores containing male reproductive cells (gametes) from seed plants. It’s produced in the male part of flowering plants called the stamen and transferred onto female flowers called pistils for fertilization by pollinators.
Nectar is a liquid produced by flowers that provides energy for honey bees. It consists of sugars and provides essential proteins and fats for bees and other insect pollinators.
Garden flowers provide a valuable nectar source for insects and other pollinators. They also attract butterflies and hummingbirds, who feed on tubular flowers with long, siphoning beaks.
Nectar is an important source of carbohydrates for birds, reptiles and other animals. It can be found in extrafloral nectaries (EFN), glands on plant parts physically separate from flowers but near anthers and pistils, as well as fruit. Bees collect nectar from these glands and store it away in comb cells capped with wax for future use.
Sap & Juice
Wood boring bees (carpenter bees and mason bees) feed off of plant sap and juices while foraging. This provides them with essential moisture during times of reduced blooming, such as the summer dearth.
Bees also forage for nectar from flowers and trees, and they sometimes eat secretions of extra-floral nectaries found on green leaves of plants and flowers. When there are no flowers to gather, the bees may rely on a concentrated form of this food called bee bread for sustenance.
Carpenter bees often burrow into unpainted wood surfaces to form galleries or nesting tunnels, which can cause extensive damage to homes and other buildings. To prevent them from nesting there, apply Boracare directly onto wood surfaces or other potential homes for them – this product is non-toxic and acts as a repellant against pests.
Honey & Beeswax
Beeswax, an ancient substance used for medical and beauty purposes, can now be found in lip balm, hand creams and salves as well as cosmetics like eye shadow, blush and eye liner.
Bees secrete wax through eight glands located on their abdominal segments. Hive worker bees collect this substance and chew it to create wax scales needed for building honeycomb.
This process is entirely natural and doesn’t harm the bees. However, consuming too much wax in a short period of time may lead to digestive issues such as bloating.
Eggs
In the springtime, fertilized female carpenter bees bore a round entrance hole through wood at approximately half an inch in diameter. After making an angle turn and tunnelling parallel to the wood grain, they reach five or six chambers for housing their eggs.
Each chamber is then sealed off with regurgitated wood pulp. The female then supplies each cell with pollen and an egg for fertilization.
As the larvae grow, they feed on pollen and nectar collected from flowers. The young carpenter bees hatch and mature during the summer, returning to their nests in the fall for hibernation.
Eggs are an excellent source of protein, essential for building strong bones and muscles. Plus, they contain heart-healthy nutrients like potassium, folate and B vitamins. Furthermore, eggs contain lutein and zeaxanthin – two antioxidants which may reduce the risk of eye diseases like cataracts and age-related macular degeneration.
