Grand Canyon News

A rare thing happened at GrandCanyon.com yesterday.  A “Would-Bee” Grand Canyon visitor asked a question that had never been asked before!  :)

No offense, folks, but after all the years we’ve spent in the area (some of our employees were born and raised here), we’ve pretty much heard all the questions that can possibly “bee” asked about the Grand Canyon.  This particular lady had a good one.  The East Coast resident reported that some friends of theirs had visited the Grand Canyon last year and encountered what she called “big black bugs flying around.”  She was wondering two things: 1. what were these bugs? and 2. should she fear them? 

I remembered these critters well from my 7 years at Grand Canyon South Rim.  Say hello to the Carpenter Bee.  Like honeybees, Carpenter Bees collect pollen and nectar.  But, as revealed in an article by Michael Waldvogel of the Entomogolgy Department at the University of North Carolina published in 2003, Carpenter Bees are - literally - ”boring.”  Read on:

“Carpenter bees use their strong jaws to drill circular tunnels into exposed wooden surfaces. Unlike termites, they’re not interested in your porch or shed as food, but as a protected refuge for their offspring.  Distinguished from bumblebees by their glossy black tails, carpenter bees excavate round, half-inch-diameter entrance holes for these nests, then drill horizontally into the wood, along the grain, for six or seven inches. The female deposits her eggs in this tunnel.”

When I first saw one of these little guys, to quote Gloria Gaynor, “first I was afraid, I was petrified.”  These bees are big – much bigger than your average honeybee.  They don’t buzz, but I remember they had a low frequency “hum.” They also fly slower than their smaller sleeker cousins.  A bee that maybe senses a threat to its nest will sometimes hover in front of a  perceived invader, but I’ve never seen them chase people.  Indeed, Waldvogel says that:

“Carpenter bees are far more interested in foraging and other bee-tasks than pestering you. Males don’t have stingers, but will let you know if you’re intruding on their territory. Females, which do have stingers, use them only if highly agitated.”

So, “Do Bee” aware that you’ll probably encounter Carpenter Bees on your Grand Canyon vacation; but “Don’t Bee” afraid – like other Grand Canyon insects, chances are virtually nil that they’ll hurt you as long as you “let them Bee.”  Remember, this is a National Park, so we don’t use chemicals like bug sprays.  We try our best to let the wildlife stay wild.  

P.S.  For more information on desert wildlife, plants, history, etc., DesertUSA.com publishes a delightful newsletter called “Digital Desert.”  It’s LLLLOOOOOOOAAAAADDDDDEEEEEDDD (I’m doing my best Ron White impression here) with  information to help you get the most out of your Grand Canyon vacation and beyond – I subscribe to it myself!  Interested?  Click here.

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