Bees, Flies, Wasps, Midges and Related Species Photo Gallery by lejun at pbase.com

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lejun | profile | all galleries >> Insects >> Bees, Flies, Wasps, Midges and Related Species

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Bees, Flies, Wasps, Midges and Related Species

A collection of a variety of the Dipterids and Hymenopterids.

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Flower (Hover) Flies	Crane Flies	Robber Flies	Tachinid Flies	Deer Flies and Horse Flies
Fruit Flies, Picture-winged Flies, and Related Flies	Bee Flies and Mydas Flies	Dance Flies, Long-legged Flies, and Lauxaniid Flies	Soldier Flies, Snipe Flies, Stiletto Flies and Others	Houseflies, Fleshflies, Blowflies, Dung Flies and Related Flies
Sawflies, Horntails, & Wood Wasps	March Flies and Fungus Gnats	Mosquitoes	Various Small Families of Flies	Lacewings and their relatives
Vespid Wasps	Solitary Wasps	Potter and Mason Wasps	Scoliid Wasps and Velvet Ants	Ichneumon Wasps
Spider Wasps and related wasps	Bees: Family Apidae	Sweat Bees, Leafcutter Bees, Resin Bees and related bees	Midges, Black Flies and related insects	Unidentified Specimens

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lejun		29-Dec-2011 01:03
Hi Ben: It is nearly impossible to accurately identify an insect just from a description. If you could get a picture of the insect, we might be able to identify it. Thanks for your interest.

Ben		27-Dec-2011 11:33
So I have a question if thats okay. I was recently in Goa in India and a wasp/bee/something kept trying to fly into our room. It was maybe an inch in length, its head looked quite like wasps but its body then became extremely thin before fattening out into a large round striped yellow stinger (at least it looked like a stinger...) Any ideas?

Janet		07-Sep-2011 23:18
I have a wasp that looks just like the Eastern Sand Wasp with brown wings that are translucent, but is 1.5 inches long or a bit more. I have pics if you need them. Could it be just a massive one or is there something that is similar and bigger? Can you identify it?

melanie		02-Sep-2011 18:02
We have in Virginia near the western part of thestate huge yellow jackets can't seem to find anything out on the I would like to no what they are called moat of us call them sand bees but I can't find anything on them.

lejun		14-Aug-2011 01:24
Coleen and Linda: It is virtually impossible to accurately identify and insect by description only. I will be happy to try to identify the insects if a photo can be provided. Don't risk getting stung, however.

Colleen		13-Aug-2011 17:37
I too have sen the strange long looking bee but not bee type body. Its more like a dragonfly type of body. Vickie described it very well....They showed up last year and they try to get in the house. In fact when I was posting this it came up and landed on the window looking at me, weird to say the least. I wish I would have snapped a photo. The legs are large as well and have the banding or striping on them and their eyes are very large. They fly soooo fast its hard to get a glimpse...It will be interesting to find out and I have looked everywhere for an answer as well.

linda		13-Aug-2011 04:26
i have several 3 inch long bumblebees. our "normal" bumbles have thin bands of yellow and black along their odies but these big guys have 3 wide and disctinct bands black-yellow-black. they are as big as my thumb-no kidding- and are NOT afraid of anything. they are not hummingbird moths as we have had those for years and these new titans are just like a bumblebee on steroids, it's a little scary. we've spent hours on line and at the library and can't find anything like this at all. let me know if you have any ideas cuz we're not so sure we can get close enough to snap a photo

Carissa		07-Aug-2011 05:55
Amber it is most likely an ichneumon wasp, or "long tail wasp". The "tail" is an ovipositor, or "egg tube". It is harmless to humans and lays its eggs in larvae of other insects, which are often inside trees.

lejun		06-Aug-2011 02:05
I am not an insect expert and moreover have not seen an insect of that coloration. I would suggest you crop your photo so that the insect fills the frame and then post it on www.bugguide.net. A number of entomologists and insect experts may be able to help you with and ID. Thanks for your interest.

sylverwolfe		05-Aug-2011 04:51
I have an insect I've been trying to Identify. I've had several of them show up in my home over the last couple of days and I can't determine if they are some sort of Firefly, or perhaps a species of termite. The Greenish postion at the midsection would seem to indicate a firefly, but I've never seen fireflies here in California. Could you take a look for me? http://www.pbase.com/image/136980728 http://www.pbase.com/image/136980735 Any help you could offer would be great. Thanks.

lejun		17-Jul-2011 17:51
Jayne: If you do have photos, I would be happy to try to identify your insect.

Guest		17-Jul-2011 17:37
Vickie, did you find out what ur insect was? I've had something very similar in my kitchen, I also have photos if anyone could help identify? Jayne

Guest		01-Jul-2011 14:23
Vickie - I just snapped a bit of a fuzzy photo of one of these creatures in my garden. It looks similar to a bumblebee, but seems to have what I would describe as tail feathers and reminds me of a cross between a hummingbird and a bee. Very strange.

Vickie		25-May-2011 05:02
We found an insect in our house that we can't identify. It is about 2cm from the tip of the head to the end of the wings, with a long tail extended beyond the wings. The body is thin and black with thin yellow bands. We do have some pictures of it I can share if someone can tell me where/how to do that. Thanks!

lejun		22-May-2011 20:05
Amber: It is almost impossible to identify an insect or spider by verbal description only. I you have a photo, I will be happy to evaluate it. Thanks.

amber		22-May-2011 08:08
we left our front door open and a "wasp" that has yellow legs and face but it had like a 6 inch stinger/tail..does anyone know what its called?

lisa willoughby		07-Feb-2011 22:56
I live in Bundamba QLD. I have had a rather large bee it seems in my garden. It had a hard green like head,its body was as thick as my thumb,and it has it seems laid eggs on my Gardinia,and I now havd grubs that are black with spots down their sides,with a barb at the end,sticking up.Would love to find out what type of insect I had visit,any ideas?

Tony Gardner		10-Sep-2010 16:01
I had a very large black fly, bigger than a horse fly but it had a single broad band of very bright yellow midway down its body. I have seen one before a couple of months ago. I live in Kent in the UK. Any ideas please ?

Guest		09-Aug-2010 12:57
Just found a strange little thing in my Kitchen. He is black,with what looks like an ant or wasp body and a wasp tail.He has no wings,and can use his tail like a scorpians tail. Any ideas? I cant find anything like him anywhere!

Tim Grass		09-Aug-2010 03:17
My family was in Denver Colorado and saw a group of four wasps on a tree stump. They lengthened from 2 to 4 inches they had slender wings and abdominal section. The most significant feature that i noticed was a very large stinger, it was like a very small needle but stuck out around 4 inches when prompted. The wasps were using these to probe in the stump. What is this

Guest		08-Aug-2010 00:18
There is a bee on our flowers that has a long green neck and head without hairs. Its body is long and fuzzy with the colors of a bumble bee, but it is slim with two pointy things on its tail. I can't find any information on these bees. I love your web site. Thanks!

Virginia Wisk		01-Aug-2010 11:46
Thank you for aall of your help lejun.

lejun		31-Jul-2010 14:01
Virginia: I live in Auburn Alabama. I have asked Lindsey to send me the photo of her wasp and will see if we can ID it. To all visitors: Be sure to double click on the various galleries to open them up which will display many more types and species.

Virginia Wisk		31-Jul-2010 11:06
Wow, I was reading the guest discription and that sounded a lot like my wasp that I saw but have not seensince. What part of the country are you from? Have you seen any since because I have not.

Lindsey		31-Jul-2010 03:01
I have a picture of a wasp that I found in my house. Where can I send the picture to identify it? I didn't see it here on the web site.

guest		31-Jul-2010 01:56
Some of these comments sound similar to my inquiry.... had a strange mosquito/wasp looking bug in my house. its body had yellow and black stripes but not bold coloring like a yellow jacket. the wingspan was maybe 2-3 inches had a black dot at the end of each wing and had the long stinger coming from its bottom end... the closest thing i saw on this site to compare it to was the crane flies but they didn't have the long black stingers.. just curious because to me it looked like something you'd see in the middle of an african jungle lol

Brian		28-Jul-2010 19:21
I found a fly/bee( not sure which) today inside my car.It looked a common wasp, black and yellow stripes, but the body was much larger, as were the wings.Any ideas.if i see one again I will post a photo

Virginia Wisk		26-Jul-2010 07:17
Thank you. I have not seen this wasp since this time but I will inform my students that somebody replied to our question. They have have been asking me if I found out anything about the wasp. If it comes again I will try to take a picture. Again, thank you.

lejun		25-Jul-2010 12:57
Virginia: If you have a photo of the wasp, please send it and I will check it for possible ID. It is virtually impossible to make a valid ID by verbal description only. Thanks for your interest.

Guest		22-Jul-2010 07:27
Virginia Wisk I saw a very long tail on a striped wasp about eight inches in southern NJ also. Any ideas??

Vicki Hutchinson		19-Jul-2010 15:18
I saw another post like my message. We had a very long black "wasp" looking bee in our garage last night. It had a very unusually LONG "tail" "stinger" something about 6 inches long from the bottom of it. Probably almost 8 inches in length all together. Would love to find out what it was, very unusual to see.

Martin Carter		25-Feb-2010 11:16
Hi I live in Spain between Alicante and The Mar Menor, and have Hummingbird Clearwing Moth in my garden. Saw it yesterday for the first time. Did not know we had them here in South of Spain

Jeff Morrow-Lucas		26-Aug-2009 02:25
Superb images Lewis! The color, clarity, lighting, and proper depth of field is brillant. Nice work; now I know what I ran into today in my yard: an Eastern Cicada Killer. Very large. scary looking beasts that most sites claim to be non-aggressive - not so sure I buy that based on the behavior on this one today! Keep up the great work!

c. lott		23-Aug-2009 18:49
Lovely website but cant find the fly/wasp we have seen. Its the size of a bee yellow strip down its head, red/orange back and one black circular strip on backside also appear quite shiny. Any ideas anybody? Seen today 23rd August at about 6.30 pm in Surrey.

Christy Hill		12-Aug-2009 18:39
Loved this site. I found bees and flies that i have never seen before. Whoever took all of these pics is brave, and did a geat job! Thanks for creating this site.

Guest		05-Aug-2009 20:14
was,nt sure type of bee i been feeding outside my window.i do now thanks to this site!! :)

Jan		02-Jul-2009 18:19
Was stung this a.m. by dull red wasps with dull black abdomens. They came out of dead branches near the ground when I was cutting them off. Painful but not serious. I can't find them in my books but your paper wasp photos resemble them the most closely of any photo I've found. Other paper wasp photos show them with bold stripes. No stripes on these wasps of mine. Do paper wasps have a dull black & red phase? Your photos are magnificent and I spent 20 minutes just enjoying them & will again. Thank you for making them available! Jan in OK

Fiona		20-Jun-2009 13:18
Hi Great pictures but I cannot identify what is flying around us at the moment... It looks like a thin wasp but has a long body, buzzes and has a very strange tail thing hanging off it. We are in inland Andalucia, Costa del Sol, Spain. Can you help please? Thanks PS - I will not be close enough to take a picture because when they get in to the house they chase me...

Dianne		30-May-2009 01:42
Great pictures, but I did not find what I was lookin for. For all my life what I have known as a "Bumblebee" I am told is not. This bee is all black, very large and bulbus. Makes a loud buzzing sound and is very agressive. If you it will chase you and it stings. I have lived all my life in So. Calif. Can you tell me what it is? Thank you....

Guest		13-May-2009 18:48
This is a wonderful gallery of photos! I was able to identify the bee that stung me today as a Carpenter Bee. Thank you!

Kathryn		20-Mar-2009 12:01
I have been trying to identify a wasp that stung my daughter, her reaction was quite severe. Your photos are brilliant and now thanks to your photos I believe it was a paper wasp, I found it dead after the dog tried to eat it after my daughter stepped on it on the grass. By the way, she is fine, recovered after a few days. Thank you again.

Steve		17-Mar-2009 20:55
Very nice site...fabulous photography !

Guest		11-Oct-2008 03:01
Wow! Great site. You helped us in identifying a lovely Carpenter Bee. Thanks.

Tomasz Dziubinski - Photography		31-Aug-2008 02:20
Great galery, large collection of excellent macros, Vote.

Linda Gavin		16-Aug-2008 21:23
What a great bunch of pictures. There is a bee that bothers us all the time when we go outside. Wanted to know what it is called.

Guest		22-Jul-2008 04:35
What a wonderful site, you answered my questions, with great photos

Inga		16-Jun-2008 02:19
The photo's on this site are wonderful! Beautiful photography. This really help me identify a few of the wasps I have around my home. I have wasps fighting each other, they are amazing to watch. It is nice to know their names. Thank you.

Janice		14-Jun-2008 19:28
I enjoyed the great gallery. I was looking for a black and white striped fly which bites and sucks blood. Twice this year I found one on the dogs face and I have have bite also. from other phots it looks like an adult apple maggot fly. Janice from Elwood IL.

Krzysztof Masłowski		08-Jun-2008 22:40
Beautiful Gallery,VOTE! Explore my http://www.pbase.com/krzysztofmaslowski/foty1_nature

B. Law		05-Apr-2008 15:21
nice macro photos.

lejun		20-Nov-2007 01:49
I am pleased to hear the images were helpful for your project

amon		19-Nov-2007 19:14
i foind this website very helpful for my science essay on wasps!!!!

Guest		22-Sep-2007 20:49
I do not know if anyone else has seen this, but as a child, I found a yellow-jacket like insect that was green and black instead of yellow and black. I always wondered if it was a hybrid or just a genetic mutation that caused the yellow to come out green.

Deano		01-Sep-2007 01:55
A couple weeks ago the wife and i found something stuck in our screen tent it was 3-4 inches long,and a wingspan of at least 6 inches,when it flew it sounded like a hummingbird. It was striped black and yellow,semi transparent wings,and the rear body was triangular shaped.Just really curious what it was?? Any idea? P.S. Thnak you , now we know what kind of wasps we usually see.Paper type.Thanks again from Dubuque,IA

concerned		24-Jul-2007 20:36
I have found several fly and wasp like insects that don't seem to match any piuctures. They have a green or gold face, a hard like "jacket" with well defined stripes (green alternating with brown) running in direction ofhead to end. They make a loud buzz when flying. Any ideas?

lou		22-Jul-2007 00:30
There is a large bee that visits my flower gardens that actually looks like a hummingbird or sorts. Can anyone tell me what it is?

Corine		12-Jul-2007 00:43
Awesome Picutres Wish you had more pics of the other breeds too. Keep piling them up. Thanks

Helene		06-Jul-2007 19:09
Brent you are referring to a Moth commonly called a Hummingbird Imposter that more than likely it is a Hummingbird Clearwing moth. There are different species of clearwing moths depending on your area. They are usually out in full sun and feed in the day on nectar. They love butterfly bushes.

Brent		03-Jul-2007 15:31
Awesome work. I'm looking for a "bee" like bug that is very larger - up to 1.5" and flies like a humming bird. I'm trying to identify this bug. It visits my gardens on a daily basis but has been quite difficult to photograph.

Judy Armson		13-Feb-2007 14:35
I was looking for a picture of a bumble bee in flight so I could paint one in a picture and came across your site. Beautiful pictures , I had no idea there was so many different species!

jae		17-Jan-2007 02:50
really nice photos!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:)

DENNIS REED		09-Sep-2006 01:14
WOW, WHAT NEAT PICS. I AM AN AMATURE PHOTOGRAPHER AND JUST DISCOVERED THE WORLD OF INSECTS IN PHOTOGRAGHY. I JUST TOOK PICS OF WASPS BUILDING A NEST AND COULDNT IDENTIFEY THEM. NOW I CAN THANKS TO YOU. PAPER WASPS ARE COOL. THE ONLY THING IS IS THAT THEY HAVE SOMETHING ROUND AND GREEN IN THIER MOUTHS AT THE NEST AND I WISH I KNEW WHAT IT WAS. CAN YOU HELP ME? THANK YOU SO MUCH, DENNIS REED FROM TERRE HAUTE IND.

Guest		23-Aug-2006 07:21
Looks like a fly on my sunflower, body is green, but back legs are thicker than front and middle. They are yellow and black striped. What might this one be?

Sam Ciurca		22-Aug-2006 02:38
Isn't Evolution magnificent. The variety of life you display is only a tiny fraction of the lifeforms that have ever lived on our planet, yet look at the diversity. Thank you for showing all the photos. Sam http://eurypterids.net) - Rochester, New York

Guest		21-Aug-2006 15:46
Isn't God's creation wonderfull! Look at all the variaty! And some people actually believe this all happened by time+chance! How ridiculous!

lejun		20-Aug-2006 16:37
Do you have a photo of the bees? I suggest you log on to www.bugguide.net and post your inquiry there. Thanks for your interest

Guest		19-Aug-2006 02:28
i have these monstrous "Bees" that have nested in the ground in my backyard. They dig holes about 1 inch in diameter into the dirt, and buzz loudly when they fly by you. I have been told they are called "humming bees", but i cannot find a description on the web for this. I am curious if they are dangerous and what should be done about them. please email any info to dhaas@nyc.rr.com

lejun		05-Aug-2006 20:15
Dianne, I cannot identifiy the bee from the description. Do you have a photograph that you could send? I would suggest you search under "bee" at the www.bugguide.net site and look for it there. Thanks.

dianne joseph		05-Aug-2006 18:32
we discovered a "nest" in one of our trees today. It appeared to be a mudded hut with a single entry round hole. the insects are large and shaped a lot like the potter wasp, however have never seen markings like this before. they are very aggressive, and after destroying hive they pursued my husband for over an hour. the head is black with vertical white stripes along the sides. the tail appears to be one of a yellow jacket or wasp family, but is black (as is the body) with white dots in 3 rows around the stinger - not stripes, but very small white squares. We are very curious and could not find a similiar picture on this site. do you have any clues?

Ty		03-Aug-2006 07:15
Very very nice.

lejun		14-Jul-2006 22:17
Thanks! I have enjoyed your gallery as well. Keep up the good work!

Sig Gar		14-Jul-2006 14:59
Awesome gallery..... Great macros

Thomas Buford Architect		13-Jul-2006 21:45
This is a very helpful collection of photos that has helped me ID Bees infesting a house project I'm working on. Thank you very much

silas		11-May-2006 01:06
when i lived in north central pennsylvania, i saw a few wasps that were strangely colored, one was almost flourescent green, another was white. i was told they had been bred to combat the gypsy moth infestation because they ate the larva. any thoughts? can't find pictures

Bug Gal		02-May-2006 15:49
Ok, What I have looks like a Ichneumon Fly. BUT it's body is striped like a yellow jacket. No picture to send as it was destroyed soon after it was found. A co-worker told me it was from the wasp family and burrows into trees. Help I really want to know what we found.

Jen		25-Apr-2006 00:57
I need to find what kind of insect was in my house. Ok it's got the body of a dragon fly, it's really long and thin. But it's got yellow and black strips like a yellow jacket. It also buzzes. It's got really long wings. Can you help me?

lejun		04-Nov-2005 03:52
Hi Kalyn: Could you provide a photo of the insect? It is very difficult to provide an identification without either an image or drawing of the insect. Thanks.

Kalyn		04-Nov-2005 03:46
I need to identify a bug I found. It is all tan and has stripes like a bee but they are only slightly darker that the tan color. All other anatomy is bumble bee like.

Rachel		28-Sep-2005 13:18
Thanks for the great photos! Now I know what honey bees look like!

bella		27-Sep-2005 02:26
what a cool site! - NOW i know that all these "hornets" are really YELLOW JACKETS (like my dad said) - one of which attacked me yesterday! - thanks

ragnarandren		10-Sep-2005 22:57
Nice gallery, thanks for sharing. Interesting to see for me new species, ie the american horse fly is abeatiful creature (on a photo at least, maybe not in the real world!). Ciao, Ragnar

Jodie Peach		10-Sep-2005 01:42
Hey...trying to identify a strange looking bug, winged, bigger than a bumble bee, all black and sort of shiny...a really large back section, probably the size of a large man's thumb. The bug seemed as though it was trying to burrow into a hole in the wood of the overhang on my back deck...really gross. Sort of looks like a Tihpiid wasp, any ideas?

Graham Tomlin		01-Sep-2005 02:28
nice gallery

Graham Tomlin		01-Sep-2005 02:27
nice gallery

Guest		17-Aug-2005 20:26
This is an extremely useful site!!! I didn't know the difference between honey bees and yellow jackets. We have been invaded by yellow jackets(soda bees) and now I'm not going to feel guilty when I spray them Thanks a bunch. Laura

Stacy		04-Aug-2005 22:21
Thanks for the great site. I recently discovered that I was infested with the "cricket hunter" or "crcket wasp" as the exterminator called them. They are annoying little critters because they won't leave my apartment and the more I get rid of, the more I find. I am glad to know what they are and know that they and hopefully they will be harmless to my child!

lejun		29-Jul-2005 13:29
Suggest you go to the website http://www.bugguide.net That site offers a huge collection of images all types of insects.

Guest		29-Jul-2005 02:01
I saw the scariest thing I've ever seen in my backyard this evening. It was about 2 inches long with a black body and wings that were sort of iridescent (blue). The scary part is that it had a huge head with a long "whatever you call that thing that could be used for sucking or stinging" coming out of it. I live in Virginia; any idea what it could be?

lejun		26-Jul-2005 03:14
Thanks Brian. Suggest you go to the website http://www.bugguide.net That site offers a huge collection of all types of insects.

Brian		25-Jul-2005 19:27
Great sight! Still having trouble on an ID though. All black sort of looks like wasp, living or at least visiting the wood railing at my apartment has long tail like that of Ichneumon fly. Help?

Vernon		31-May-2005 11:39
Great website - came here to see if you had a fly we saw in a friends garden that we hadn't seen before. I have some pictures of it as it was very unusual and doing some strange things on the roses. It is about the size of a hover fly with a black head and wings but it's abdomen is yellow (no stripes or other marks). While sitting on the roses it's abdomen is attached to the stems and it slowly wlaks down it leaving what looks like a scorch mark? any ideas?

Guest		16-May-2005 00:23
My God! What a fabolous JOB here for sure!!! I love colorful things Thank you!!! visit me: http://www.pbase.com/obstinado/root&page=1

kelly		17-Apr-2005 17:58
Absolutely, the most "BEEutiful" identity photos that I personally have ever seen and I have seen many! {Sorry about the "cornball" phrase, but couldn't resist) Hopefully your sense of humor is as abundant as your pictures! Take care and keep up the wonderful work, my friend!!;-) Maryland

Leonard Martinez		12-Apr-2005 02:41
Sweet! You rob the hybla bees and leave them honeyless.

Dave P.		09-Feb-2005 01:04
Very nice photos. Found through Google search. Searching for an ID on a wasp.

Guest		22-Sep-2004 12:24
Thanks. Your site came up on google right away...when I typed in "photo honey bee yellow jacket". Since the honey bee is protected in Ohio I wish to be sure I know the difference between the two prior to solving a problem of "bees in the house wall".

Guest		12-Sep-2004 17:16
Terrific photos. Thanks. They helped me identify my yellow jacket.

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