Crowders Mountain State Park
Kings Mountain
North Carolina
July 2018
they’re in here
It comes up in a random discussion as we hike to the top of Kings Mountain in North Carolina. What’s the difference between carpenter bees and bumblebees? It is a warm afternoon and we have our sampling of both.
Both carpenter bees and bumblebees are yellow and black, like the Steelers. That’s the most important thing.
Both belong to the same kingdom, phylum, class, order and family. It’s not until you get down to the subfamily that you find differences. But you knew that.
Carpenter bees nest in wood, bumblebees on the ground. They resemble each other quite a bit, but the carpenters have a bare and shiny black abdomen while bumbles are fuzzy.
That’s it! Bumblebees are hairy butt bees and carpenters are bald!