carpenter he bee

The elusive yet impossible to miss male carpenter bee, xylocopa varipunctata, made a brief appearance in the garden the other day. He did not stop on the flowers, he did not light on the shrub, he did not pause to hover. He made quick darting starts towards the camera, then suddenly flew off towards 2:00 (once) and 10:00 (the next time). He can't sting, so of course I was not harmed or even phased but rather psychologically bruised; he does not like humans with cameras, he does not like them with nets, he doesn't like humans near his nest: He does not like them, Sam I Am.

This male bee spent no time while I was watching feeding at flowers. By contrast the females spend most of their time when not at the nest feeding.