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May 03, 2005

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Although I was told by several people that this was a Palo Verde Beetle, I didn't quite believe it because it looked too much like a bee. So I did some research and have discovered that it is a Carpenter Bee.

Very much like a flying tank, these things here can be quite scary. They can get up to 1 inch in length and look something like a bald black bumble bee on steroids.
Although they are very much like a bumble bee, they do not live in colonies and they have fewer hairs with their abdomens being shiny.
They can sting, but it is very rare that they do.
A very tough creature, they bore very deep holes into the wood so they can lay their eggs.

I followed this one here around for quite some time before I was able to get a few good shots of it. It wouldn't land on anything so it was even more of a challenge to get a picture. But a shot, in mid-flight is always much more interesting anyway.

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