Carpenter bees are right around ¼ inch long with smooth black bodies, and are very often mistaken for bumble bees due to similarities in their appearance. Bumble bees are covered in yellow hair while carpenter bees are mostly hairless, making this an easy way to tell them apart. Also, carpenter bees will bore into wood creating “galleries” as a nest for their eggs, store food, and as refuge to survive the winter. The “galleries” they bore into wood are also ¼ inch, perfectly round, and are dug along the grain of their chosen wooden structure.