​Buzzing Into Action: Supporting Our Pollinator Friends with Bee Hotels on Campus  

Have you seen the hovering, bouncing, bumbling carpenter bees hanging out around tribal campus? These guys are coming out to begin the next phase of life, finding a mate and finding a place to lay eggs. Carpenter bees create holes in dead wood and lay their eggs within the holes. The larva hatches and feeds on pollen, provided to them by their parents, for two months. Yes, pollen. Carpenter bees are pollinators just like bumblebees, and we need to keep as many pollinators around as possible. What's the main visual difference between carpenter bees and bumblebees? Carpenter bees have shiny abdomens, bumblebees have furry abdomens. 

Once the carpenter bee larvae grow to adults, they may use their hatching hole or a nearby hole to fill with pollen and nectar for the cold months. Carpenter bee lifespans are around a year in length. Carpenter bees are not aggressive, males do not have stingers. Females will sting and both can bite, however, it takes effort to make them sting or bite. PBKK has ordered over a dozen “bee hotels” that will be put out on tribal properties by Grounds and PBKK where carpenter bees are more likely to be looking for homes in tribal buildings.