15_the_circle | return of not the right carpenter

no, not the Excellent Trim Carpenter. he would be welcome, most welcome indeed.

the worker in question is the Eastern Carpenter Bee (Xylocopa virginica), whose effect on this place is one of destruction rather than construction (yes, I know, that's a species-centric point of view, but one I can't easily forsake).

the traces are obvious: the accretion of little piles of sawdust under the site of their excavations into pieces of dead wood. old tree limbs are OK but when they choose the cottage's structural or decorative elements I tend to lose enthusiasm. when they go after antique porch furniture, no matter how rustic, it's even less desirable.

(click through these thumbnails for higher resolution images)

nuisance though they are around (and threat to) the house, they are important pollinators. coexistence would be a lot easier if they would just choose expendable targets (such as the T-111 siding on the N wall and the doomed addition: as far as I'm concerned those are an all-you-can-eat buffet for their species).