Carpenter bee or a Bumble bee

7009.     I have found approximately 18 of these very large bees in my house in the past 4 to 5 days. They seem to be coming up from the basement. They are very large! I am sure it is a common bee but I find it unusual to find them indoors so I wanted to check. Right now we are practising a catch and release bee program! Thank you for you time. Peterborough, Ontario. Canada

Number 7009. It’s either a carpenter bee (Xylocopa sp.) or a bumble bee (Bombus sp.). Look at their abdomen – if it appears shiny and all black, it’s a carpenter bee, if it’s hairy (can be either all black or with yellow or orange markings/bands), it’s a bumble bee – Click here. In either case, it is unusual to find numbers of them indoors. If they are carpenter bees, you should find signs of their tunnels in untreated bare wood. If they are bumble bees, they may have a nest somewhere in the basement.