Plant-hugging Carpenter Bee

I got a picture of this Eastern Carpenter Bee that appears to be hugging a plant stem. I have to admit I'm not sure what the bee was doing. I don't think they eat plant stems/leaves, nor does there appear to be damage to the stem. A female might chew holes in wood in which to lay her eggs, this stem clearly lacks the girth (at probably the structural integrity) to fill that sort of need. 

While I'd like to think this little fella was an environmentalist among bees, doing something like tree-hugging on a smaller scale, my best guess is that this was just a convenient place to rest between performing its bee-related chores and tasks.

July 22, 2021 at Fairview Farm
Photo 148400220, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)


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