Posted: 6/17/2015 5:50:15 PM EDT
What is this? It was big, maybe an inch long, very lathargic and looked like it had some kind of big fang sticking out of it's mouth?
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What is this? It was big, maybe an inch long, very lathargic and looked like it had some kind of big fang sticking out of it's mouth? http://i1056.photobucket.com/albums/t372/02vettez06/65D0F51B-3493-4C19-93BD-22701C6652B7_zpsjcbcxdrf.jpg http://i1056.photobucket.com/albums/t372/02vettez06/11F003B5-C607-4D7F-9FF9-5F6863DA03EB_zpsuxiovwtc.jpg This is definitely not a spelling bee. |
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It's the rare, elusive bumble bee. I don't think so. Looks more like some species of carpenter bee to me. http://www.doyourownpestcontrol.com/images/carpenter-bee-bumble-bee.jpg Not that simple. There are many varieties of both, and carpenter bees are more likely to have black wings and be less fuzzy, like the one pictured in the OP. |
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Not that simple. There are many varieties of both, and carpenter bees are more likely to have black wings and be less fuzzy, like the one pictured in the OP. Quoted:
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It's the rare, elusive bumble bee. I don't think so. Looks more like some species of carpenter bee to me. http://www.doyourownpestcontrol.com/images/carpenter-bee-bumble-bee.jpg Not that simple. There are many varieties of both, and carpenter bees are more likely to have black wings and be less fuzzy, like the one pictured in the OP. I am obviously not an expert. What leads you to believe that is not a bumble bee? I was going by the yellow markings on the abdomen. https://www.google.com/search?q=carpenter+bee&rlz=1C1CHFX_enUS579US579&es_sm=122&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=D_mBVeOXD4KCsAWTg4GQAw&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAQ&biw=1366&bih=681 |
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I am obviously not an expert. What leads you to believe that is not a bumble bee? I was going by the yellow markings on the abdomen. https://www.google.com/search?q=carpenter+bee&rlz=1C1CHFX_enUS579US579&es_sm=122&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=D_mBVeOXD4KCsAWTg4GQAw&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAQ&biw=1366&bih=681 Quoted:
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It's the rare, elusive bumble bee. I don't think so. Looks more like some species of carpenter bee to me. http://www.doyourownpestcontrol.com/images/carpenter-bee-bumble-bee.jpg Not that simple. There are many varieties of both, and carpenter bees are more likely to have black wings and be less fuzzy, like the one pictured in the OP. I am obviously not an expert. What leads you to believe that is not a bumble bee? I was going by the yellow markings on the abdomen. https://www.google.com/search?q=carpenter+bee&rlz=1C1CHFX_enUS579US579&es_sm=122&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=D_mBVeOXD4KCsAWTg4GQAw&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAQ&biw=1366&bih=681 Because it is not fuzzy enough, and the head is too large in comparison to the thorax from the (admittedly poor profile) pictures, and because relatively few of the aprox. 250 species of bumblebee have black wings, while many of the about 500 species of carpenter bees do. Hey, I could be wrong, but it just doesn't look like any species of bumblebee you're likely to see in my part of North America. ETA: And there are bumblebees with red markings, and plenty of carpenter bees with yellow markings. |
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I have some bees living just inside one of my soffits in the attic right now so I researched as much as I could about bees, it seems bumble bees tend to be very fuzzy, and carpenter bees tend to be less fuzzy. Otherwise there is so much variation and so few identification resources online that saying much more is difficult. The ones I'm dealing with are "normal" size (honey bee size), not an inch long, and reasonably fuzzy so I think they're bumblebees and I'm currently expecting to wait for winter and then sealing all the soffits up with metal mesh.
Based on the size I'd expect your pic is of a carpenter bee, as an inch is pretty big, and carpenter bees tend to be bigger. Also it doesn't look quite as fuzzy as a bumblebee. EDIT: *shrug* I will admit ignorance. I should post a pic of the ones hanging out in my attic and get an opinion. To me honey bees have kind of a orange shade to them, mine are a tiny bit bigger but have bright yellow patches on top and bottom and furry all over, but not fat like the classic bumblebee. *Looked it up more* like the color pattern of bombus californicus, which makes sense me being on the west coast, but they aren't fat like I usually think of bumble bees (but I grew up on the east coast with different species) |
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I have some bees living just inside one of my soffits in the attic right now so I researched as much as I could about bees, it seems bumble bees tend to be very fuzzy, and carpenter bees tend to be less fuzzy. Otherwise there is so much variation and so few identification resources online that saying much more is difficult. The ones I'm dealing with are "normal" size (honey bee size), not an inch long, and reasonably fuzzy so I think they're bumblebees and I'm currently expecting to wait for winter and then sealing all the soffits up with metal mesh. Based on the size I'd expect your pic is of a carpenter bee, as an inch is pretty big, and carpenter bees tend to be bigger. Also it doesn't look quite as fuzzy as a bumblebee. Bumblebees tend to be larger than carpenter bees, way bigger than honey bees. |