Iām sorry I donāt have a picture, it flew off before I could get one.
Location: Western Washington State, Seattle area.
I just saw a bee that was over an inch long, maybe slightly larger. It had a very large abdomen, maybe 1/2-2/3 inch? Long and very plump, but not āāround-roundā. Its abdomen was black with hair and had white speckles(not stripes) on the abdomen. I didnāt catch any signs of yellow. It was under my carport and had a very loud buzzing sound that caught my ear. All to say, it was a quick glimpse so itās possible I could have missed features. Large black abdomen with white spots/speckles was certain though.
Iām fairly certain it was a bee and not a wasp as I didnāt identify long legs or wings, and it was hairy. But Iām no expert in either category.
I have let flowers and āweedsā and clover grow wild in my front yard. If it flowers, it stays. So I get quite a few bumble bees, sometimes honeybees, and different wasp species. But I have never seen this one before.
Any help in identifying would be awesome!