All The Buzz at Xericopia

The carpenter bees seem to have discovered their bounty for the season. There are at least five or more every morning when I go out into the garden.
But I discovered something just as amazing, if not better - gold! A golden carpenter bee. WOW! I think it's a female, but that's just my plant-brained guess. (any novice entomologist out there know specifically what kind of bee it is?)