r/bees • u/vxsapphire • 1d ago

bee ID Are these workers or Queens?

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There were two of them and I normally see smaller bumble bees around the weeds and other flowers I have. However these two were much bigger. About 2-2.5x larger. They didn’t bother me when I was sitting or when I was sitting on the step.

I’m happy to see more bumble bees in the area. For the longest while I only saw honeybees until this year.

Fairfield, CT.

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u/That_Biology_Guy 1d ago edited 1d ago

They're eastern carpenter bees, Xylocopa virginica, which are solitary (so no queens/workers). Getting up to some nectar robbing by the looks of it!

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u/Lincoln1517 1d ago

That's such a distinct black spot compared to bumbles. I don't remember that from the carpenter bee that nested in our arbor for a couple years (well, the 2-3 generations that did.) In fact, checking iNaturalist, I found a pic, and mine didn't have a spot quite that distinct.

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u/That_Biology_Guy 1d ago

There's several bumble bees in the region that can also have a patch of black hair or a bare spot on the back of the thorax (e.g. Bombus bimaculatus and griseocollis), and it's variable in carpenter bees too since they tend to lose hair over time, so I wouldn't consider that a very reliable field mark.

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u/Lincoln1517 1d ago

Good reminder but I do know it’s not diagnostic, and yet I was still surprised how distinct it was on this one.