Valley Carpenter Bee

Description:

Female black bee with smoky wings. A series of the female taken in daylight can be seen at: http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/828... and the male at: http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/195...

Habitat:

Under porch light at night in the backyard.

Notes:

"The size of carpenter bees prevents them from entering tubelike flowers, instead they cut into the base of the corolla. This is referred to as “stealing the nectar” as it does not result in the bee being able to pollinate the flower. They are helpful in pollinating native plants and shrubs." - Wikipedia