Carpenter Bees Are Coming to East Texas
Carpenter bees are coming to East Texas, and if you're not already seeing them you will be soon.
This is the time of year when the bees start coming out in drovers, and the Texas Agrilife Extension Office expects an abundance of them this season.
The good news is, they're not overly aggressive, and only the female will sting. She has to be provoked in order to sting, and just walking by won't do it. You usually have to personally assault her in some way before she'll sting ya. And the bees are beneficial, pollinating things and helping nature take her course.
One spring day a few years back I walked out into my back yard and heard a buzzing sound loud enough to be a small saw, and I looked up into my arbor and noticed an enormous bee hive hanging down from the rafters. I had never seen so many bees in my life! Small ones, one on top of the other, all layered to form the hive. I don't know how bees don't get claustrophobic living like that, but the bee keeper told me they're happy like that, crawling all over one another around the queen.
They're a little loud and scary, so if you don't like seeing them remove the unfinished wood around the house. That's where they cozy up and build the nests.
Honey bees make most of the honey around, but carpenter bees might make a little too. Now ya know!