This Carpenter Bee Can't Sting You, But He's Certainly Giving You the Eye

He looks like a bumble bee, but this is Xylocopa virginica, the Virginia Carpenter Bee. While females have a stinger, the males don’t, but they do step to other males who invade their turf, watching over females and young. “Carpenter” comes from the bees’ nesting habits: they tunnel into wood to lay eggs.

Photo credit: USGS Bee Inventory and Monitoring Lab