Honey Bees & Carpenter Bees

Bees are one of the most common insects found around the world. Of all the different types of bees, the two most recognizable are the honey bee and the carpenter bee.

Honey Bee

The honey bee plays a large part in the human and natural world. Honey bees got their name by being the only insect that refines and concentrates nectar to make honey.

Honey Bee Features

Honey bees have an amber and black color pattern that is meant to warn predators. They are equipped with a stinger that they use in defense. Only female honey bees have the capability to sting.

Carpenter Bees

The carpenter bees are named so because they are wood-boring bees that make their nests in wooden structures. They also feed on nectar, but do not turn it into honey like honey bees.

Carpenter Bee Features

Carpenter bees do not have a color pattern like that of honey bees. The main part of the carpenter bee's body is metallic black, while the thorax is either white, yellow or orange.

Considerations

Honey bees are social insects and live in hives, usually in trees, that consist of over 80,000 bees. Carpenter bees do live with other carpenter bees, but nowhere near the amount that honey bees do.

References

• Honey Bee
• Carpenter Bee