More Urban Species at the workplace: New bee to me

[urbpan]

I got a radio call early Monday morning that there was a "yellow jacket issue at the Organic Garden Shed." I grabbed my can of Wasp Freeze and hopped on the bike to go check it out. When I got there, there were no yellow jackets anywhere, but there were several large bees flying around. I caught one with an insect net and tossed it in the fridge, to slow it down so that I could identify it.

I'm reasonably certain that this is a male Megachile sculpturalis, or giant resin bee. This species is a relatively recent introduction from Asia. The males engage in aggressive posturing at potential nest sites--mainly empty carpenter bee nests. What my coworker mistook for a dangerous situation involving scary wasps turned out to be a big show being put on by male bees who are completely stingless.


As it turned out, later in the day I found the same kind of bee near the concessions area, staking out a hole in a fencepost. I knew this was completely harmless, but that it would result in a lot of frayed nerves from people trying to pass by to get chicken fingers. I jammed a couple sticks in the hole to make it a less attractive nest site.