what type of bee/wasp/hornet is this?!?

Question

well i cant get a picture but i can discribe it
its about 1 inch long, mayb a lil shorter, but around 1 inch
its 2 parts the back is all black, and shiny and hairless
the front is yellow with hair
its thich, mayb about 1/2 inch give or take
and its always around flowers with other ones pollinating i guess or eating
whenever i get near them they rush at me like theyr gonna attack me then they turn around and head back to the flowers
theres usually about 4 of them at the entrance to my house
i live in virginia


then theres the other normal bees i guess which are allot smaller (1/2 inch long) that are on the other flowers but i dont worry about those, they dont attack me

Answer 1

sounds like a female carpenter bee. The males are all black and stingerless and the females are black and yellow. They can sting, but it is rare. They are curious by nature so they are probably just coming out to see what you are. The males are especially bad at this and will hover right in front of your face until they decide whether or not you are a potential mate. Anyhow, without a pic I'm not certain, so here is a pic for you to compare with.
http://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images/view?back=http%3A%2F%2Fimages.search.yahoo.com%2Fsearch%2Fimages%3F_adv_prop%3Dimage%26va%3Dfemale%2Bcarpenter%2Bbee%26sz%3Dall%26ei%3DUTF-8%26fr%3Dyfp-t-486%26b%3D21&w=500&h=300&imgurl=static.flickr.com%2F228%2F492535226_b2f3991391_m.jpg&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.flickr.com%2Fphotos%2Fimarsman%2F492535226%2F&size=50.7kB&name=492535226_b2f3991391.jpg&p=female+carpenter+bee&type=jpeg&no=32&tt=49&oid=a99d2355ef3f93ec&fusr=imarsman&tit=From+behind&hurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.flickr.com%2Fphotos%2Fimarsman%2F&ei=UTF-8&src=p
Don't worry, they won't hurt you.