These guys are the bane of my existence lately. Now that the ladybugs are gone, we’ve got a dozen carpenter bees orbiting the house, seeking an opportunity to drill holes in it. Here’s one after an encounter with a tennis racket I keep on the porch expressly for the purpose of controlling their population:
Look at those amazing eyes!
Ventral view, rotated to make it look like he’s flying above us:
The ones that are zipping around outside are almost always the males, and they can’t sting. The females are more retiring, but can and will sting if seriously provoked. Painted wood seems to escape their tunneling.