Males do not drill tunnels, but they are territorial and will harass other bees and people who venture near their protected areas. The males, which can be distinguished from females by a whitish spot on the front of the face, do not sting. Females are capable of stinging, but rarely do so unless confined in your hand or are highly agitated. These adult bees die in a matter of weeks. The eggs hatch in a few days and the offspring complete their development in about 5 to 7 weeks.
Adults begin to emerge in later summer.
Although the bees remain active, feeding on pollen the general area, they do not construct new tunnels. With the onset of cold weather, the bees seek overwintering shelter. Carpenter bee gallery inside a section of wood. Arrows point to the invidual cells within the gallery. Typically, carpenter bees do not cause serious structural damage to wood unless large numbers of bees are allowed to drill many tunnels over successive years.