Carpenter bees are browner colored and the same size as a bumblebee. They drill a solitary nest hole upwards into wood in congregations. They are aggressive at their nesting sites they are darting around and fight on sight at my flowering apple tree. I keep blocks of mason bees within ten feet of the carpeters nest area and I see the masons are by far the better pollinator. Masons are around during the fruit tree bloom period and the carpenters all summer.

Hey thats funny, I have carpenter bees as well. I always thought they were bumbles until your post here made me go read up on it. They live in holes bored under eaves in my house. It seems like half the time I see a bee pollinating it is one of them. I also have not noticed any problems with my blueberry crop, and they are about the only pollinators I ever see on them.

If you could figure out how to get them on to other sites that sounds like a winner to me. I would measure their hole diameter, they seem to always make the same diameter hole, so some pre-built box with that diameter hole drilled into it could be appealing. Put up a couple boxes by your existing spot now and maybe you can get some new guys into there which you can move to the new site in the winter.

Scott

http://www.ehow.com/how_5099006_build-nest-carpenter-bees.html

I didn't post this because I was too lazy before.

Here the carpenters are out just as soon as any other bees or pollinating flies as so many survive winter. They were here in full force for my apricots! The carpenters are major buzzers and dislodge a lot of pollen which gets all over them- I don't see how any could pollinate better based on observations in my orchard.

Hey Scott that is a great idea. This spring has been dry and I can't get enough mason blocks up they are getting full so fast. I will screw an old piece of wood 5/8" pre drilled beside the carpenters to see if I can catch any to start another site.

By the way, Scott, that was a good suggestion about moving them to other sites. I was only thinking about attracting them.

Ace, it always amazes me how much contrast their is in our observations even though we aren't located very far apart. I can't imagine why your carpenter bees arrive in your orchard so much later than mine. Or why your Stanley is more susceptible to BK than the couple I manage.

Harvest, I didn't say carpenters arrived later, I see mason bees working a lot harder while carpenters hover around most of the day. Studies have shown masons better pollinators than honey bees. Masons get in deeper and work more flowers per trip, holding pollen better on their belly fur. I think in a commercial orchard masons would make a difference. We had a dry spring I bet nearly every Apricot is pollinated on your tree and mine the same. Because we have native carpenter bees Masons are probably needed just for backyard exploration and are fun to watch. The carmine jewel bush cherry is now blooming first time and is very attractive to pollinators of all sizes. Next to bloom is my arctic kiwi, the male vine has flowers this year.

Kiwis are my biggest challenge to get pollinated. I have a real nice variety against my house that is the only one I'd bother harvesting a lot of, but it usually blanks out. It flowers a little earlier than others, even though it's arguta- same as other varieties I have. Still there does appear to be some overlap.

Every year I tell myself to order a male to grow right next to it but I'm just not wild enough about kiwis to get around to it. So I'm not sure if this one flowers early because of location or variety. I do notice that the flowers are poorly tended to by my buzz brigade, although they're very fragrant, and in this variety, reltively showey (big fruited). It does have a bumper year occassionally.

For me Kiwis are more just for eating a few off the vine (OK, technically not a vine- no tendrils) than bringing inside and storing in the fridge to extend the season.

If it is a real nice variety graft a few male arguta scions.

I have bees going into my house. I broke a pipe over winter for the outside faucet (didn't drain enough water) and so i cut it out and was going to replace it (but i'm slow) so it sat for months. I went to work on it not long ago and here i see bees (bumble?) flying out of the hole! I go down to the basement and hear buzzing behind the insulation. Since bees are my friends, i can't kill them so i'll wait on the replacement. I might stick a webcam up by the hole and see what kind of malicious activity they are up to.

Only anecdotal.
Hard to say who's the best but mine sure are hard workers and out early enough in force.

My orchard bee masons don't seem to be around, I don't have any early nesting. I have a different kind of leaf cutter that lives in the same type nest but they don't seem to be overly active at flowering and nest through the summer.

I don't know about that website's nest though. Unless the carpenters want to drill their own holes I don't think 1/4" is the right size. Mason bee holes are 5/16".

fishtank, those are honeybees. Be glad you have them.

Here is a link that might be useful: native pollinators

Thanks Mykl. I didn't actually check out the website I posted but I wouldn't have known how wide the holes need to be.