Carpenter bee Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun large solitary bee that lays eggs in tunnels bored into wood or plant stems

WordNet

Definitions
  1. (Zoöl.), a large hymenopterous insect of the genus Xylocopa; so called because it constructs its nest by gnawing long galleries in sound timber. The common American species is Xylocopa Virginica.

Webster 1913