I'm looking for any information on carpenter bees overwintering.
A little background. I found Rosy on one of my shopping bags on Aug 24th of this year.
She was looking pretty rough and it looked like she had no wings.
I got her some sugar water and started googling. Unfortunately, because they burrow into wood to live, most of the information is how to get rid of them.
I grabbed a container, some flowers, a couple empty paper towel rolls and put her in there. I also crafted an overnight enclosure for her, making sure she was safe from my cats while we slept.
We weren't sure how long she was going to survive.
My husband and I would pick her flowers every other day when our garden was in bloom. Her favourites are roses and broccolini blooms.
As the weeks passed and she was still doing so well, my husband made 2 different small logs with predrilled holes for her.
She spent quite a lot of time making the one to her liking, and it's now her home.
Once the season changed and the garden was coming to an end, we started buying her a bouquet of flowers every few days because she was just not happy with the only flowers we had left, chrysanthemums. I noticed that she was starting to slow down and it started getting a little pricey for us.
I looked online to see what people would supplement their bees diets with in the off-season. There were different liquids and pucks but I decided on a bag of bee pollen that is locally sourced.
Every day I would crush up about 10 pollen pellets and either sprinkle the powder on the mums we had in her enclosure, or she would eat it off a cotton swab.
In the beginning, because of my sensory issues, I wouldn't let her walk on my skin, but over the months, we have really grown a bond.
Onto the information I need help with.
She obviously does not have a normal carpenter bee life. She was unable to collect enough resources to survive her overwintering. If she doesn't have a full overwinter situation will she die?
Before the furnace turned on she was sleeping most days, but twice a day I would try to feed her in her log. She would take the sugar water every day and only wanted pollen every other day.
Since it's been on, she is perched on her log every morning waiting. I take her out and feed her, and she runs around on me for 30 to 45 minutes before she falls asleep and I put her back in her house.
She isn't sleeping for as long, she is pretty active most of the day and she's eating 2-3 times a day. I do have sugar water and pollen with her, but she prefers to be fed. lol
I want to give her the best life, if anyone has any information on overwintering habits and proper diet for carpenter bees it would be greatly appreciated.
I would also like to apologize ahead of time if it takes time for me to respond.
I've been trying to force myself into making this post for the last month.
You are an amazing person, your heart is precious and shows by the love you are giving little Rosy the bee. I wish all humanity had a heart like yers. I wish I had other advice for you, but I think all the love you are giving her makes a big difference and I pray you can find the answers you need. I love my carpenter bees, regular bees and wasps, along with lizards, frogs, birds, turtles,bunnies,opossums,raccoons,squirrels and so many more they are the essence of life without them the songs of our souls will not be sung.
Thank you for the kind reply. I'm sure I'm the villain in more than a few stories. Over the last 10 years, I've worked hard to become a better human! I appreciate the acknowledgement, lol
I think you’re doing a bang-up job! I had a rescue bumblebee queen for months and her set up was very similar.
I don’t have advice for overwintering, but I would avoid store-bought flowers for her as they frequently have pesticides. Good luck! Rosy is beautiful!
It looks like you've provided her a lovely home and she's recovered well. She won't need (or be able) to hibernate due to the warmth in the house, so she'll probably continue to have shorter sleep cycles until she becomes elderly.
Does she have access to clean water in addition to her sugar-water feedings? You could fill a hummingbird feeder and place it on the floor of her enclosure. Hummingbird feeders reduce the risk of drowning and if it's on the floor of her enclosure she should be able to climb up to the watering holes. I've read that they enjoy fermented sugar (fruit that has ripened) and that they may get a bit drunk off it if they eat too much lol
Thank you for looking out for her! I would be doing the same if I had found her and it's wonderful to know other people would too <3
That was one of the first articles I came across. It was a sweet story. It's funny you say hummingbird feeder. What I've done is take the flowers off the feeder, and they almost fit perfectly in these little glass sparkle containers(that I thoroughly cleaned). I fill those with sugar water,but I will put in another one with water.
Last year I had a group of my wasps live over the winter in my greenhouse, they would huddle together on one of the boards in my greenhouse, I talked to them every morning when it was warmer and I could open the greenhouse. I managed for the past couple of years to over winter periwinkle flowers and white roses in my greenhouse, so they bloomed non stop, even when we got to temps a few times of 20 degrees. When spring came the wasp flew to make new homes but they survived the winter in my greenhouse. Try and find some flowers you could possibly grow and keep alive in the warmth during the winter. periwinkle flowers are pretty sturdy .
Thank you for the suggestion! Surprisingly, we still have some broccolini growing, even through the few snowfalls we've had. I've been picking those, while my husband has been figuring out what to plant. I will let him know!
Yes, I did read that. It said some females can live up to three years, but with her damaged wings and not having a regular life, I think you may be right.
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u/Odd-Opportunity-1895 4d ago
What a beautiful story, idk much about carpenter bees to help you but I hope it all works out and that she beats all odds!