Not Carpenter Bees?

Giant Resin Bee

Location: Northeast Georgia mountains
July 1, 2011 2:29 pm
A group of 10 or 11 of these burrowing bees-wasps-hornets-flies hangs around a wooden bench made from a cayuco, which, in the Republic of Panama, is made from a hollowed-out tree. I brought this bench with me when I moved from Panama to the mountains of northeast Georgia. I even captured 3 groups of 3 of these guys and released them at different locations between 1 and a half and 2 miles from my porch where this bench sits. That left 2 that I know of. Within 3 hours, 10 or 11 of them were buzzing around again. I believe the captives had found their way back and rejoined the group. Huh? Although they’ve made holes similar to those of the female carpenter bees, from my research I don’t believe they are–these are too social and carpenter bees don’t have the ”smiley face” characteristic that you can see in one of the images. Besides, I have carpenter bees on my property and they don’t look like them. They’re not aggressive, as I& #8217;ve sat among them–even bumping them–without getting stung; assuming they have stingers. I could easily kill them, but I don’t do that. I was tempted to sacrifice just one to determine if it had a stinger, but I couldn’t even bring myself to do that. (No, I’m not going to capture one and hold it in my closed fist just to see if it’ll sting me.) I’m really baffled; haven’t found an image that even closely resembles them. Obviously, I’m missing something. I know someone’s thinking that I unknowingly ”smuggled” them as larva inside the bench when I left Panama. I left there 12 years ago, and these showed up only 3 years ago. Please help. Thank you.
Signature: Rob Lane

Giant Resin Bee

Hi Rob,
The first thing we have to say is that your action photos are spectacular.  Though the Giant Resin Bee, Megachile sculpturalis, is an introduced exotic species, you had nothing to do with its importation.  The Giant Resin Bees were introduced from Asia and they are now very well established in North America.  BugGuide indicates:  “They are opportunistic and nest in existing wooden cavities, rather than excavating their own. Effectively pollinate kudzu, another invasive species.”

Giant Resin Bees

Thank you, Daniel, for that rapid response. Had I seen any image like the ones in BugGuide (the link you provided) I’d’ve instantly recognized it. Although I said it, I didn’t mean that they actually “made” the holes like the carpenter bees do. This piece of cayuco was riddled with holes, and I did observe the “plugs” in their entrances near the end of their season.  Do you think that those nine I captured and released actually found their way back?
Oh, and thank you for the comment on the action photos. I credit them to my Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ40 set at 1/160 shutter speed with flash.
Although I said that a cayuco is made from a hollowed-out tree, I failed to mention that it’s a boat (like a dugout canoe).
Regards,
Rob
For your interest I’ve included a few more images focusing on the wood of the cayuco:
This is stem of the boat; the flat part on the very bow. That hole at the upper right is cut completely through and is where the boatman would tie his anchor line. You can see traces of the resin, mud, or clay at the center of the stem.

Resin Bee Nest

Hi Again Rob,
We believe the Giant Resin Bees may have found their way back, but we cannot be certain.

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Unidentified Bee
July 17, 2009
I put up a bee house for mason and leafcutter bees with 3/8 inch holes. The leafcutters came earlier in the year and have gone. Now some of the holes have been plastered over and two large black bees with rust colored hair are going in and out the holes. They have very large eyes with mandibles coming out very close to the eyes. Their small eyes are in line with the top of their large eyes. The thorax is black with rust colored hair along the sides and the first abdomen segment is rust colored. The second segment is black, then a thin white stripe, then the rest of the abdomen is black.
Karen Oliver-Paull
Northern most part of Lancaster Co., South Carolina

Giant Resin Bees nesting

Dear Karen,
The Giant Resin Bee, Megachile sculpturalis,is an invasive exotic.  According to BugGuide:  “They are opportunistic and nest in existing wooden cavities, rather than excavating their own.  Recently introduced from Asia. To make things worse it turns out to be a good pollinator of another introduced invasive: kudzu.”  Here is how BugGuide describes the life cycle:  “The female bee nests alone and begins by preparing a cell in an existing tube or narrow cavity, using resin and sap collected from trees. Other materials such as bits of rotten wood and mud are also used in nest construction. Next she collects pollen and carries it to the nest on the underside of her hairy abdomen.  After completing several pollen collecting trips, she lays an egg on the pollen ball in the cell. Then she seals it, and prepares another cell. Continuing in this fashion, one female can complete about 10 cells. If the entrance of the nesting tube is directly exposed to the outside, the tube may be noticeably sealed with a resin, wood and sometimes mud cap. After the eggs hatch, the larvae feed on the pollen and spend the winter within their cells. The larvae pupate in late spring and the adult bees emerge that summer.” North Carolina State University

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