Stop! Thief! Carpenter Bees are Notorious Nectar Robbers | Deep Look
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- Опубліковано 27 вер 2024
- With their short tongues, Valley carpenter bees can't easily drink the nectar from tubular flowers. So they use powerful mandibles to slice into the blooms and steal it. It's called nectar robbing, since the plants don't get the benefit of being pollinated by these enormous, fuzzy bees.
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On a warm spring day in California’s Central Valley, a super fuzzy golden bee almost the size of your thumb flies in tight circles over red and white Hot lips salvia flowers. You’re witnessing the fitness display of the largest bee in the Western United States - the Valley carpenter bee (Xylocopa sonorina).
The bright golden males of this species release a pheromone as they circle around a focal point, mimicking floral odors. Researchers think that they are using the perfume-y scent to attract foraging female bees. They hope that the all-black, shiny female bees will be impressed by their dizzying acrobatic displays, and decide to choose them as a mate. These striking males are colloquially referred to as "Teddy bear bees."
Many flowering plants in California’s Central Valley produce tubular flowers which are hard to access with the bees' short tongue. Valley carpenter bees, like other types of carpenter bees, don’t have the long tongues that other local pollinators may have (like some moths, butterflies, or hummingbirds). So instead of extending their tongues down a flower to reach nectar (and in the process pick up pollen at the front of the flower), these bees steal the nectar through a backdoor. They use their powerful mandibles to bite a hole at the base of the flower and sip nectar from the side of the puncture, thus bypassing pollination. Researchers call this “nectar robbing.”
---+ Why do carpenter bees eat wood?
Carpenter bees are named for their ability to construct nests in wood - typically logs or human-made wooden structures. The bee nests are made of tunnels about ½ inch in diameter and 6 to 10 inches deep. The tunnels in a bee nest lead to several chambers, where the bees raise their young, as well as hibernate during colder months. In parts of the US, especially the Eastern US, carpenter bees are considered pests.
---+ How do carpenter bees drill holes?
The female bees use their powerful mandibles to tunnel into dead wood… like logs, or tree trunks. Mama bees then lay their eggs and provide food for the developing offspring in these chambers.
The bees may return to the same nest for generations, expanding and renovating year after year.
Carpenter bees don’t have a queen, and they aren’t as social as honeybees, but several bees may room together in a nest.
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• Watch This Bee Build H...
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We can learn a few things from these highly skilled carpenter bees, they are so small and can do such great things. At least their secret lives of crime benefit us and the ecosystem in some ways, it's not all bad. Thanks deeplook.💯❤👍🏻
You are welcome, RJ!
Thanku too from me
We sure can @RJ. Love the videos @Deeplook
They indeed benefit the ecosystem, all have a purpose 😌
Thankfully they do their usual front-door pollinating in my passion fruit's flower and yellow pumpkin (this one big enough to fit in).
They dont touch the flower of my eggplants, chili, and sweet potatoes though maybe cuz its too small. But That's a trigona bees job to do that anyway (the small bees as small as mosquito)
this takes "we have come for your nectar" to a whole new level
@El yepas Clips de shitpost kaiju universe and project kaiju Supremecy
GET OUT OF MY GARDEN
@El yepas Clips de shitpost why does that matter lol
WE HAVE COME FOR YOUR NECTAR
why did people here wake up and choose violence like cope more
Teddy bear bee is actually one of the cutest names for an insect I have ever heard.
this is why asteraecae (sunflower, goldenrod, etc.) flowers are so good for bees who don't have long tongues. they have open faces so it's easier to get the nectar. if you're trying to attract lots of different bees, make sure you have a variety of flower shapes!
Great ideas! Thumbs up 👍🏻
You are right, the carpenter bees only touch my yellow pumpkin and passion fruit flower as they are open type and big to fit in. Though they are competing with honey bees with that.
As for trigona sp (the size of a mosquito bees) regulerly pollinating the small flower types like sweet potatoes, eggplants, and chili
That's generally a good idea for attracting all pollinators, not just bees, flowers with open faces for example are great for all hymenopterans (and most pollinating insects honestly), while tube ones are generally best for big lepidopterans, bee flies, and hummingbirds, or anything with a long enough tongue. Make sure that the plants are native to wherever you live though, don't want to support anything invasive (yes, invasive bees do exist).
Where I live in Maui, they've been flourishing because of all the Verbesina.
I see these bees a lot at my house, when the flowers are blooming. I always wondered why they stabbed the flower like that. I used to think they were bumble bees, not carpenter bees! Thanks for the informative episode Deep Look! I always love the amazing macro shots you guys can get.
I second that! The close-ups are great! So interesting!
Teddy bear bees are adorable 😍😍
Thank you so much for adding me in the video description! And btw you're so close to 2 million subs 🎉🎉
Edit: hey mom look i'm famous
We agree! And you are welcome.
oh man, this close-up footage is so beautifully shot, as always ❤️ thanks Deep Look!
i love that the official term for it is "nectar robbing" hahaha, so cute.
We can all agree that teddy bear bee is perfect name for it
Seeing all the local bees, and those close ups of their mandibles is so appreciated!
Interesting to learn about their controversially clever lifestyle!
Why do people consider insects disgusting? They are beautiful!
Theyre both so pretty. The differences in color between sexes is a beautiful contrast
I love the way the male bee's tiny feet vibrate as he hovers. Eeee! So cute. 🥰
There's a carpenter bee nest in one of the posts above my porch. It's been there for years, with a bee hovering about and climbing in and out each year, and now I'm wondering how many generations have grown up there.
Sit out there in the mid morning as spring warms up and you will hear them ripping your deck apart.
skree skree skree skree (ad infinitum)
@@Psychol-Snooper Buy a bee hotel. Or a squarer bench you don’t mind them drilling into. Then apparently from what I’ve read if you haven’t sealed your patio, seal it. I don’t think they like the taste. That should divert their behavior but I do feel you. I’m worried ab them getting into the soffits. It’s almost impressive how much damage they can cause for such tiny guys
@@tallycat On the shady side of the valley where I live there are homes that look like Swiss cheese.
I had my deck sealed within a month of moving in, but we are in a state that only allows water based sealants. They went right back in their same holes, and through the sealant within a couple years.
I've heard wind chimes aggravate them... but... they sort of aggravate me so... LOL
@@Psychol-SnooperHang up a brown plastic shopping bag that you have filled with other brown plastic shopping bags near the nest. The insects will assume it is a hornet nest and go dig their holes in somebody else's wood.
I thought the male was sooooo cute and then you said "teddy bear bee" omggggg so fitting
These are our largest local bee by far here in our part of California, so much fun to see the males on occasion.
If the plants were negatively affected in a major way they will do one of two things. Die out or evolve to the extent that the flowers would shorten to allow the bees to access their nectar AND pollinate them. Nature always finds a way. 🐝🌺
Bees are so cute! I want a pet bee if I could.
I am so interested in all the different and unique types of bees
Can we all just appreciate all of the work they put into their videos? Like they actually do a lot of stuff in their studios and go out and FIND these animals in a place where they can record them?!
Once a female carpenter bee attacked me by headbutting my chest, it was like being hit by an oversized airsoft bb.
Hummingbirds do this as well for certain flowers
Carpenter bee: i have come for your nectar :)
Other bess: GET THE F*CK OUT OF MY NECTAR
Her wings are so pretty omg
This was a fascinating and insightful episode on some of the larger bees in our world! Thank you, Deep Look ☺️
They're very cute😍
I can't find any insect "cute" xD
@@lancelnce 🤗🤗
@Muzzamil Hussein nop
I like #GroundBees better because they don't sting and a produce honey unlike Africanized bees and European bees which sting and produce honey. Those consider cute 💯% except carpenter bees, European bees, and Africanized bees.
@@lancelnce how about snakes. I know I'm going off topic and talking about some living creature but #BarbadosThreadSnakes considered cute just because of how small, and harmless they can be 😊.
I've caught a couple of carpenter bees before, other than light blue n yellow color, there's teal n purple color! They are truly beautiful insects!
I love these. It makes me want to observe every little bug, worm, etc.
Bees are a wonderful example of evolution, there’s so many unique adaptations specific to specific species of bees.
Teddy bear bee
Most wholesome name for a bee
Save the right bees!! Thank you for highlighting these absolutely amazing insects
I remember running from these when I was younger and I still do they're so loud!
These videos and the creatures featuring in them are truly amazing. Keep doing what you're doing!
We will Daniël !
"We have come for your nectar!"
The flower: " "
Carpenter Bee: I have come for your nectar, please do not resist.
Beautiful video and good narration 🙂❤️... Every time u guys upload new video im excited to watch it
Thank you so much 😀
*Beeautiful, bzz bzz 🐝
They came for your nectar, our nectar at this point.
Surely, a Carpenter should 'nail' the flower, not stab it!
*Doh* why didn't we think of that??
That Bee is more buff than me
Nectar thief? The spongebees won't like this one bit.
wow these bees are cute, wouldnt be scared if i saw them
2:03 bro, give them some privacy
Those golden bees smell like flowers. I've caught them before when I was younger
Thanks for verifying!
"We have come for your nectar!"
Man they are so cute, it's barely legal to be this cute as an insect
They look adorable
They are adorable! And apparently, the males smell really, really nice.
Now this is the kind of content I come to UA-cam for
I never knew bees can be real thieves as in for plants.
We have come for your nectar.
"Gimme your nectar!"
>Only if you take my pollen too~
[Bee takes out switchblade] "I wasn't asking."
i keep thinking “we have come for your nectar” every time i hear the word nectar
"Coming throught the front door like respectful visitors" 😳😳
They basically represent the concept of only wanting the free item in a “buy one get one free” sale
We have come for your nectar moment
I love that insect in fact I'm fascinated, always wondering how come tis fatty bee flies with tiny wings...
Nice video.
"The humble bumble"
I want to hear it the next bee episode cause it sound cute
"Sneaking the nectar out through the back door...." inserts joke here
I mean, I stab my waffles to eat them...
Fair.
I literally did a summer research project on this at university! We started the week not even knowing that nectar robbing was a thing but, as the week progressed, we had discovered this whole phenomenon (including the other bee species taking advantage of the carpenter bees previous handy work). This video brought back some happy memories, thank you!
Wonderful, Liam! Thanks for sharing about your research. Any surprises?
One of us found out that carpenter bees do in fact sting and that it is a lot more painful than a normal bee sting haha!
That bee is just like me fr fr
Backdoor, Frontdoor, Respectful visitors?! My mind's too corrupted for this video... so are those bees!
I guess if plan A didn’t work for her, then plan Bee surely would lol
I see what you did there
@@KQEDDeepLook 😉
I see no problem in it. It's not stealing or something bad, it's absolutely ok, and flowers that won't reproduce will simply die
One of those gigantic tropical carpenter bees once dropped on my lap while i was chilling on a hammock in Thailand. Nearly shat myself.
We have come for your nectar
That plant seed got ALL over her face. 🥵
I have a large Wisteria tree that's full of female carpenter bees each spring. They like to bore into a nearby outdoor cedar shelving unit to lay eggs. It's a mess with shavings but now they're chewing into my home with cedar beams - adobe construction. Only way to stop is plug the hole with alcohol soaked cotton balls.
I’m sure the bees stealing nectar this way does not pose a substantial threat to the species of plant they do this to as a whole, as that would lead to that species going extinct in that area. The plant must have some adaptions to help counter this issue, right? Maybe the plants have their own form of predator satiation like periodical cicadas, producing so many flowers that some of them are bound to get pollinated the proper way.
There are other bees, and creatures, that can pollinate it.
Bees are AWESOME! My favorite insect! That “teddy bear” bee is SO cute! 🐝
WE HAVE COME FOR YOUR NECTAR!
Hey can I borrow a cup of nectar? No,Well I'll just steal it then
Mine and my mother's school have carpenter bees. They live in the wooden beams that hold up the older structures of the walkways in the halls, but we've only ever seen the females.
What great footage of the close ups. Deep look always impresses.
Thanks Ba Ri!
Lovely 🥰 👏🏾 thank you so much these videos 🤩 these bee’s are so cute 😍
You’re welcome 😊
When I was a child big into speculative evolution, I created a herbivorous spider that fed the same way.
God that/this is so beautiful, thank y'all for your work, me and my nephew love it, and I like to believe it plants good seeds in fertile minds
Thank you!
Maybe if the flowers didn't make it such a pain to just get the nectar the usual way, then they'd get pollinated more often. You'd think there would be a selective pressure to evolve easily accessible nectar for that reason
Using the back door is a lot of fun.
Carpenter bees are my fav
Didn't even know bees can be called teddy bears XD
I have one that hangs around my garden. Little fella likes to buzz away other pollinators
Awww I love bees they so are cute to watch 😊
Bruh Carpenter bee's made a nest onto my tree that's literally 2 meters away from my window so that means whenever I open my window because the rooms gets too hot I get a jumpscare by a big black Carpenter bee flying around my room while I hide under the blanket. still cute tho
Nature is fantastic and beautiful ❤️❤️👏👏👍👍
Incredible close up look at these wonderful bees!
WE HAVE COME FOR YOUR WONDERTART
Fantastic video! It got me all buzzing with joy and excitement!
All those bees grew up in prison lol
we are here for ya nectar
These bees took "we have come for your nectar" to a whole new level.
I always see the carpenter bees do this to my flowers
0:42 i bet the bee has a good personality tho😢🤣
Beautiful video and narration 😍👌..... thank for this great video and helpful information
Plant cell is the powerhouse of mitochondria
-some girl in my class 2023
I also have experience sneaking goods through the backdoor to prevent pollinating the reproductive organs
we have come for your nectar
I love these vids in my relaxing bath but whenever I sit down to relax the video has ended haha
What an amazing bee😃! How about a video on the golden Scarab or golden praying mantis?
Scarabs could be interesting for sure - I'm not sure we've considered those, Kim.
@@KQEDDeepLook well if a video like that comes up about either critter I'll be sure to watch it!😁
Pollen looks like a crown！👍
I know, right? Very stylish.
These things will devastate a house.
i use to catch these carpenter bees and use rope to tie em like a baloon when i was a kid XD