you have 1cm or bigger circular holes in your house, those are most certainly carpenter bees. They plagued the house I grew up in in NJ. We used to hunt them with tennis rackets, great fun in the summer for a kid. I don't know that they are useful pollinators, but they do put lots of pretty big holes in your house. According to a bee calendar that I have in my office, the closest bee to your pictures are called Cuckoo Bees or Polyester Bees. Genus: Epeolus or possibly Genus Triepeolus. I'm reading that 20% of wild North American bees are Cuckoo bees, so probability is good we have identified you wild bee(s). Summary: These bees loiter outside of other nests and when the host bee leaves the female moves in and lays her eggs and she and her young eat all the food in the cupboards too. Cue the ominous music... Support Root Simple Through Your Amazon Purchases Upcoming Events Root Simple is about back to basics, DIY living, encompassing homegrown vegetables, chickens, herbs, hooch, bicycles, cultural alchemy, and common sense. We're always learning, figuring stuff out, taking advantage of the enormous smarts of our friends and our on-line community, and trying to give some of that back in turn. Root Simple is a gathering place for everyone. Welcome.