Why would a bumblebee regularly hover over a arborvitae hedge?

Question

I have observed bumblebees hover over an a abrborvitae (*Thuja occidentalis*) hedge. A bumblebee will hover in a in one spot over the hedge for about 5-7 seconds, zip to another spot, hover for about 5-7 seconds, then another spot, then another. The bees will never land on the hedge. At any one time during anyone day, there will be only one bee hovering over the hedge. This behavior will go on like this all day. Why do the bees do this?

Answer 1

Hi Asked,

It's not a bumblebee, it's a male carpenter bee. Get your species straight. You can probably catch one by hand, if you are quick about it. The males have no stingers, I suppose they might nip you, no big deal.

-- Cheers, -- Mr. d.

By the way, you CAN safely handle bumblebees, too: catch one that's over-nighted on a flower in autumn, and is too torpid to move well. They respond to touch by raising a front leg, as if to say, "Hey, cut that out, will ya?"

Don't worry that you're stressing it out, likely it's overnighting out-of-the-hive because it has conopid fly infection, so its a "goner" anyway (but, it wouldn't turn down some diluted honey, if you have a few microliters). Deformed wing virus (DWV) and Varroa are also concerns, among various other things.

-- Cheers, -- Mr. d.