Carpenter bees are big, black, solitary bees that look similar to bumble bees but have bare, shiny backs, unlike the hairy back of a bumble bee.
Unlike honey bees that reproduce in hives, carpenter bees drill into wood in order to lay their eggs. Their holes are perfectly round and about 1/4 inch in diameter. Although carpenter bees prefer softwoods such as cedar, redwood, or cypress, they happily attack pine and most other species of wood. Even pressure treated wood is not immune from carpenter bee attack.
