Male and female carpenter bees are the two sexes of carpenter bees. They are well known for their wood drilling skills.
They do not live in colonies. Their groups only comprise one male and one female bee. They normally look for a mate at the beginning of the spring season when they emerge from hibernation.
The male and female carpenter bees have different roles. The male protects the female and their territory while the female builds the nest.
It is very difficult to distinguish between male and female carpenter bees. Many have used the sexes interchangeably.
So, what is the main difference between male and female carpenter bees? The male carpenter bees have a white marking on their heads while the female carpenter bees have a pure black colored head. Moreover, male carpenter bees do not have a stinger at their backs while female carpenter bees have stingers at their backs.
This article is going to give you clear differences between male carpenter bees and female carpenter bees. You will also get to learn more about the similarities between the sexes.
Comparison Table (Male Vs Female Carpenter Bees)
| Basic Terms | Male Carpenter Bees | Female Carpenter Bees |
| Stinger | They do not have stingers hence not harmful. | They have stingers at their backs hence they are harmful. |
| Head | They have white markings on their heads. | Their heads are purely black in color. |
| Nesting | They do not bury their nests. | They bury their nests in the wood. |
| Defense | They are aggressive and they attack by dive-bombing. | As they have stingers, they can sting both animals and humans. |
| Behavior | They are responsible for most of the nectar robbing from flowers. | They only account for little nectar robbing from flowers. |
| Roles | They defend the females and the nest. | They build the nest, lay eggs and take care of the young ones until they mature. |
What is Male Carpenter Bee?
They are the male sex of carpenter bees and they are not harmful as they do not possess a stinger which they can use to sting the enemies.
However, they are able to defend themselves by aggressively attacking their enemies by dive-bombing. The aggressiveness in them makes them defend themselves.
They have white markings on their heads and this is a visible mark that enables them to be differentiated from their female counterpart.
Their role is to guard the nest and the females hence they hover around the nest to ensure that no enemy comes near the nest.
Their aggressiveness scares the enemies away although they do not have stingers they remain active hence able to defend their female counterparts.
What is Female Carpenter Bee?
Female carpenter bees are the female sex of the bees. They have stingers at their backs which enables them to defend themselves from their enemies.
They are easily distinguished from their male counterparts by how the markings appear on their heads. The female carpenter bee has a pure blackhead.
Their role is to build a nest. They can make a hole in the wood with ½ inch in diameter. They use their vibrating mandibles to create a hole in the wood.
The channel created can be s long as two feet and normally has some sub-channels branching off from the main channel.
The female carpenter bees lay eggs in the tunnels and stay with their young ones until they become mature. The young ones are fed on pollen grains and the mature ones leave the nest at the end of the summer season.
Main Differences between Male and Female Carpenter Bees
- Male carpenter bees have white markings on their heads while female carpenter bees have pure blackheads.
- Male carpenter bees do not have stingers while female carpenter bees have stingers at their backs.
- Male carpenter bees defend themselves by aggressively dive-bombing while the female carpenter bees defend themselves by using the stinger at their backs.
- Male carpenter bees do not bury their nests while female carpenter bees bury their nests in the wood.
- Male carpenter bees are responsible for most of the nectar robbing from flowers while female carpenter bees are less responsible for nectar robbing from flowers.
- Male carpenter bees have the role of defending the females and their nests while female bees have the role of building nests and laying eggs.
Similarities between Male and Female Carpenter Bees
- Both are the sexes of carpenter bees.
- Both belong to the genus Xylocopa.
- Both have a bare abdomen which is black and shiny.
- Both have hairy thorax which is either yellow or orange in color.
- They are both of the same sizes.
- They both have a short tongue which allows them to feed on open-faced flowers.
- They are both large bees.
- Both are active during the spring season.
Conclusion
The male and female carpenter bees are both sexes of carpenter bees. The main difference between the two is that the male has a white marking on their head while the females have a pure black head.
The males defend themselves against their enemies by aggressively attacking by dive-bombing while the females have a stinger at their back which they use to attack their enemies.