Carpenter Bees 2019

2020 UPDATE: Regrettably since I needed my porch rebuilt I had to take some preventative measures to try to keep them out. I'll miss them.

Every year some of these bees inhabit a hole they made in my porch post. The male flies around almost non-stop all day guarding the "nest" from anything flying. Incredible non-stop energy.

At first I was annoyed by them, even caulked the hole up after they were gone for the season but I have come to love them as the male cannot sting, is not aggressive and is almost "friendly". The male has the little yellow patch on his nose and the female does not. He also chases off wasps and other insects that do sting. It might look like I was avoiding him, but not at all (we have become comfortable with each other), just trying to keep the camera on him which sometimes is very difficult as he is very busy looking in every direction for any possible threat.

They do not really do damage to much since they don't eat the wood and these guys keep using the same hole year after year.

If I sit outside he often comes within inches of me and just hovers there for a few seconds, I'm sure by now he knows I am not a threat. If you didn't know what they were it could be quite disconcerting with them buzzing around you constantly. I've even had them bump into me as he was chasing off another one.