Learn about the differences between carpenter bees vs. bumble bees to know how to handle your buzzing guest.
They tend to choose wood that is soft or decaying.
Bumble bees nest in underground burrows.
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Bumble bees also build a nest in a different spot every year.
Some favorite sources are hibiscus, blueberry, and daffodil plants.
Open-faced flowers like sunflowers are ideal.
The Spruce / Tara Anand
Carpenter bees have the ability to store nectar in a pouch near the stomach known as a crop.
Pollinator or Pest?
Both carpenter and bumble bees are pollinators and feed on the nectar and pollen of plants and flowers.
Bumble beeschnuddel / Getty Images
Both bees will sting if they or the nest are provoked, but only the female bees have stingers.
Bumble bees are much more defensive than carpenter bees.
A female bumble bee can sting repeatedly without losing its stinger.
Carpenter beeJulia Wilkins / Wikimedia Commons / CC by SA
Neither bee is aggressive as long as they are left undisturbed.
Carpenter bees can sting multiple times before dying due to their smooth stinger.
It depends on where they are.
They can also become aggressive when disturbed.
In this case, you should try and eradicate them
