Ceratina - Small carpenter bees
Ceratina are small mostly hairless bees that vary in color from dark metallic blue to green. They emerge in the spring and stay active until fall.
Size: 4-8mm
Preferred crops: Apple, cane berries, cherry, and strawberry.
Nesting Behavior: Solitary. Ceratina nest in stems, and can frequently be found in plants with pithy stems, like blackberry.
Preferred crops: Apple, cane berries, cherry, and strawberry.
Nesting Behavior: Solitary. Ceratina nest in stems, and can frequently be found in plants with pithy stems, like blackberry.
Small carpenter bees have rudimentary pollen-carrying hairs. They may transport pollen by swallowing it and regurgitating it back at the nest. This behavior has been observed in primitive bees.