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Male Valley Carpenter Bee

Posted by March 24th, 2008 at 12:00 am

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Valley Carpenter Bee

Grizzly Bee?
Bugman,
This thing has been flying around a dedicated area of a guava tree outside my window all day without taking a rest. It has to be 2 inches long… What is it? I live in San Diego, CA.
TN

valley carp male tn Male Valley Carpenter Beevalley carp tn 2 Male Valley Carpenter Bee

Hi TN,
This is one of our favorite harbingers of spring in Southern California, the male Valley Carpenter Bee. The golden male bees with green eyes fly for a short period of time in the spring and they have a rapid aggressive flight. The black female bees look like a different species. they have a more plodding flight and they are longer lived.

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