Opening the field guide
Xylocopa virginica
A bumble-bee-sized bee with a bare, glossy black abdomen that tunnels its nest into wood.
Abdomen shiny, black, and hairless on top — the single most reliable mark
Fuzzy yellow thorax, so only the rear half looks bald
Roughly 0.75–1 inch long; males often show a pale patch on the face
Anywhere weathered, unpainted wood meets open flowers — decks, eaves, fence rails, barns, and gardens.
Solitary. Females chew perfectly round entrance holes into bare wood and excavate galleries; males hover conspicuously near eaves and railings and cannot sting.
Bumble bees are hairy all over, including the abdomen, and nest socially underground rather than boring into wood.
The nest holes are the giveaway: look for a clean, round entrance about half an inch across, often with coarse sawdust below it.
Males hover aggressively but are stingless. Females can sting and rarely do unless handled. Nest galleries can accumulate in soft wood over years — painting or sealing bare wood deters them without pesticides.
Common and secure, and a genuinely valuable pollinator despite its reputation — worth deterring from structures rather than killing.
Sources are linked below. Field marks vary with age, sex, season, region, light, and viewing distance.
Danaus plexippus
An orange-and-black milkweed butterfly whose populations make extraordinary seasonal journeys.
Open field guide
Limenitis archippus
A smaller monarch mimic, separated instantly by the black line that crosses each hindwing.
Open field guide
Bombus spp.
A round, thoroughly furry bee whose hairy abdomen separates it from the shiny-backed carpenter bee.
Open field guide