As a fun note, if you pop the photo out and zoom in, you can see that its head looks a bit like a helmet with a narrow neck going into it.
This bee was big/beefy. If any of you know what species it might have been, chime in. If it helps, I’m in SE MI.
Thanks for the hint. I assumed carpenter bees were a single ginus, but it sounds like it’s a bit of an umbrella?
Yes, it seems like there are hundreds of types based on a quick search. Bumble bees aren’t under that umbrella though. It’s just that they look pretty similar.