Thanks for all the comments on my "bumblebee" observation.

I think I will rename the Carpenter Bees that I have as "humble bees"
because they sure had me had me fooled. After 7 decades of assuming all big
black and yellow bees were  of the bumble type I will humbly admit I was
confusing the metioned insects with bumblebees - no more!  I assume however,
I am not alone in such a misconception.

Immediately after receiving the first response to my thread, I put my
dragonfly net to good use as well as googling "carpenter bee" images on the
internet. After capturing and cooling down a rather irrate male in the
refrig for a few minutes, it was quite obvious that it wasn't bumble bees I
was seeing.

As it turns out, the critters were more interested in the wood soffit of my
brick house than the rhododendrons that come within a couple of feet of the
same. Although I have not seen any females yet , I assume that the most
damage they can do is add a little natural ventilation to my attic.

In any case, it will be interesting to check out the "butts" of the bugs
that will be visting the actual rhodendron blooms in a couple of weeks
although I will probably still be more interested in warbler butts in the
future. I guess I'm really a bird man than a bug man at heart

Meanwhile these critters are an interesting diversion while waiting for the
push of warblers to come through.

Thanks again for the comments. It has been an interesting thread.

Roger



On Fri, Apr 16, 2010 at 8:02 AM, Liz Marchio <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> Interesting that they are hovering about actual flowers/plants. I say this
> only because my limited experience with carpenter bees (or what I believe is
> a species of carpenter bee) is in urban areas. Ohio State's campus in
> Columbus is inundated with them this time of year and they chose to hover
> over and protect wooden benches dotting the campus. It's actually quite
> interesting to watch their threats to other bees- I've watched them fight
> and it's entertaining albeit a bit threatening to the people around them.
> Being allergic to bee stings makes me a bit wary, but hearing that the
> Eastern Carpenter males are sting-less puts me more at rest.
>
> Thanks for adding this to the listserve- I enjoy the OT comments. We're all
> naturalists at heart, aren't we? Happy Birding!
> Liz
>
>
> - Liz Marchio
> ------------------------------
> [image: Image and video hosting by TinyPic] <http://tinypic.com>
> ------------------------------
>
>
> ------------------------------
> *From:* Roger Troutman <[log in to unmask]>
> *To:* [log in to unmask]
> *Sent:* Thu, April 15, 2010 3:43:17 PM
>
> *Subject:* [Ohio-birds] Bumblebees and rhododendrons - off topic
>
> Hello list,
>
> This thread is more of an insect topic so if you are entirely into birds
> only - just delete it.
>
> Speaking of early insects getting the nectar/pollen?
>
> The last couple of days with temps above 70, about a half dozen (at most at
> a time) bumblebees (assumed to be queens because of their large size) have
> been cruising and "keeping station" for several seconds over my rather
> large
> rhododendron bush(s) (about 10' x 25-30' in horizontal cross-section) that
> is covered with XXX buds (none showing any color).
>
> The bees never land but seem to just hover about 4" to a foot or so above
> the foliage.
>
> I have seen at least a half dozen at once but they are coming and going for
> several hours a day.  During mid-day there is almost always 1 or 2 bees
> present at any given time.
>
> They just seem to be checking out the plant and but then leave for an
> unknown period of time. However they must be coming around several times an
> hour as there can't be that many bumblebees in the vicinity. In any case
> the
> buds are not swelling much and are probably at least a week or more away
> from blooming
>
> Any idea what is attracting them?  Are the plants putting off some kind of
> odor? Leaf or bud shape? Past experience (I'm not sure the queens survive
> from one blooming
> period to another.?)  Instinct? Premonition?
>
> They seem to be coming from nowhere and are not seen working other flowers
> around although such blooms are far and few between except for daffodils.
>
> Any thoughts from readers with a hymenopteran bent, leaning, knowledge or
> interest?
>
> Roger Troutman
>
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