Carpenter bee and carpenter ant? - Ask Extension
Will you please help identify two insects from my photos attached, and advise me of any action I should take?08/02/2020: This winged insect was found ...
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Carpenter bee and carpenter ant? #717194
Asked August 24, 2020, 6:47 PM EDT
Will you please help identify two insects from my photos attached, and advise me of any action I should take?
08/02/2020: This winged insect was found in our backyard (in a bowl of water used to capture Japanese beetles.) Carpenter bee?
08/18/2020: This ant was found indoors. (I hope this isn't a carpenter ant.)
(Attached are two photos of the winged insect, and one photo of the other. I have more photos from different angles if this might be helpful.) Thank you!
08/02/2020: This winged insect was found in our backyard (in a bowl of water used to capture Japanese beetles.) Carpenter bee?
08/18/2020: This ant was found indoors. (I hope this isn't a carpenter ant.)
(Attached are two photos of the winged insect, and one photo of the other. I have more photos from different angles if this might be helpful.) Thank you!
Denver County Colorado
Expert Response
I think carpenter bee or something similar is a good guess for the first one. The second one could well be a carpenter ant, but it would need microscopic examination to be certain. Given that you only found one worker rather than a swarm of the winged form, I would not worry even if it actually is a carpenter ant. See http://extension.colostate.edu/topic-areas/insects/ants-in-the-home-5-518/ and http://extension.colostate.edu/topic-areas/insects/carpenter-ants-5-554/ for more information.
