The carpenter bee makes nests by tunnelling into wood, vibrating their bodies as they rasp their mandibles against the wood. Each nest having a single entrance which may have adjacent tunnels. The entrance is often a perfect circular hole, measuring about 16mm (0.63 in) on the underside of a beam or tree limb. Carpenter bees do not eat wood.

Female carpenter bees are capable of stinging, they rarely sting unless caught in the hand or otherwise directly provoked.