eover they will frequently follow trail similar chemicals used by other bee (such as carpenter bees, Africanized honeybees and other stingless bees) for the same purpose, frequently killing or driving them away and taking over their food source.
This bee has been considered an agricultural pest for some cultures, such as passion fruit, because it damages leaves and flowers while collecting nest materials, and tunnels through the unopened flowers to collect the nectar (thus frustrating their normal pollinators).[ On the other hand, they are significant pollinators on their own, e.g. for onions.
Attack by stingless bee although not considered dangerous to humans can be very annoying if not scary, especially if the victim is not expecting it. On one occasion Pat (my wife) and I were collecting insects in Monte Verde Costa Rica. Without any warning there were hundreds of bees on us. As indicated above they got into our clothing and hair. As indicated their bite was not especially painful but when hundreds of bees are biting you especially around the face neck and other areas of the face it can be disconcerting to say the least. She still talks about it today (30 years ago).
Carpenter Bees. Carpenter bees are large, hairy bees with over 500 species distributed worldwide. Their name comes from the fact that nearly all species build their nests in burrows in dead wood, bamboo, or structural timbers.
In the United States, there are two eastern species, Xylocopa virginica, and Xylocopa micans, and three other species that are primarily western in distribution, Xylocopa varipuncta, Xylocopa tabaniformis orpifex and Xylocopa californica. X. virginica is by far the more widely distributed species. Some are often mistaken for a bumblebee species, as they can be similar in size and coloration, though most carpenter bees have a shiny abdomen, while in bumblebees the abdomen is completely clothed with dense hair. Males of some species have a white or yellow face, where the females do not; males also often have much larger eyes t