The European Wool-Carder Bee is a robust bee with the male being .75 inch long and the female .50 inch. They are mostly black on the thorax. The female’s abdomen is black with bright yellow bands broken in the middle. The male’s abdomen has smaller yellow markings. The legs are yellow and black. The wings are a clear light brown. This Wool-carder Bee was identified by volunteer experts from BugGuide.
The frequency of occurrence is not known, but it is probably uncommon in our area. It has been photographed at Camp Brewster in mid-July 2014 and at Fontenelle Forest Nature Center on the first of September 2014. This bee was accidentally introduced into New York from Europe in 1963. It has now spread across the U.S. to California where it was found in 2007.
This bee is a generalist feeder using pollen from flowers of many different families. Males defend territories aggressively against other males and other visitors to flowers. Females scrape the wool off of leaves such as Lamb’s Ear (Stachys byzantina) and carry it in a bundle beneath their bodies to their nest. They use the wool to line their nest cavities which are in crevices in walls and rotting wood.
The content of NatureSearch is provided by dedicated volunteer Naturalists of Fontenelle Forest who strive to provide the most accurate information available. Contributors of the images retain their copyrights. The point of contact for this page is: Babs Padelford.