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 After the colony is killed the entrance hole should
be caulked or repaired to prevent further bee
infestation.
THE AFRICANIZED BEE
The Africanized bee is the same species as the
European honey bee kept by beekeepers all over the
United States. Introduced into Brazil from southern
Africa, it is adapted to longer warm seasons than are
northern honey bees.
It is thought that this bee will advance as far into
the northern temperate region as it has into the
southern temperate region. If this is true, Africanized
bees will be distributed north in a line that will reach
from southern Pennsylvania, west to Seattle,
Washington.
Africanized bees do not store as much honey to
take them through the winter as honey bees do. They
have smaller colonies and tend to swarm more often.
Smaller swarms allow colony development in smaller
cavities. In South and Central America, Africanized
swarms settle in hollow trees like northern honey bees;
they also colonize in rubber tires, crates and boxes,
wall voids, abandoned vehicles and other protected
Males dart at intruders belligerently but they can
places that abound in urban areas. Worker bees tend to
do no harm; they have no stingers. Since these bees
mob intruders. The urbanized Africanized honey bee
are not social, there is no worker caste to protect the
presents a new management challenge not only to
nest. Stings of females are rare.
beekeepers but to urban pest management technicians.
New adults emerge after the middle of summer
and can be seen feeding at flowers until they seek
overwintering sites, sometimes in the tunnels.
CARPENTER BEES
Habitat Alteration and Pesticide Application
Xylocopa
Carpenter bees drill into the end grain of
Carpenter Bees are not social insects; they live
structural wood or into the face of a wooden member,
only one year. The most common Carpenter Bee,
then turn and tunnel with the grain.
Xylocopa virginica, is distributed throughout the
Dust tunnels or inject with pressurized liquid
eastern half of North America. This bee is a large
insecticide. Insert a dusted plug of steel wool or
insect with a hairy yellow thorax and a shiny black
copper gauze in the tunnel; fill the opening with caulk,
abdomen. Superficially, it resembles yellow and black
wood filler, or a wooden dowel. [A dusted plug stops
female bumble bees, which are social and more closely
new adults who otherwise would emerge through
related to honey bees. Western Carpenter bees are also
shallow caulking.] Caution should be taken, especially
large, shiny, sometimes metallic, and are shaped like
if technicians are working on ladders and if they are
bumble bees.
not experienced with these rather harmless bee?.
Carpenter bees bore in wood and make a long
tunnel provisioned with pollen and eggs. They prefer
to enter unpainted wood and commonly tunnel in
redwood and unpainted deck timber. They will also go
MUD DAUBER WASPS
into painted wood especially if any type of start hole
Family Sphecidae
is present. New females reuse old tunnels year after
Mud Dauber wasps are not social wasps like
year; they are also attracted to areas where other
Paper wasps. They are in a different family. Many
females are tunneling. Egg laying and tunnel
paralyze spiders to provision mud cells built to enclose
provisioning occurs in the spring. Males hover around
eggs, larvae and pupae. The mud cells form long clay
the tunnel entrance while the female provisions the
tubes or large lumps. The wasps are slender; they are
nest and lays eggs.
Module Two, Chapter 2, Pg 7
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