Black and white bee
Location: Portugal
July 6, 2011 4:26 pm
Hi!
I was photographing bumble bees in my garden some days ago when I found this striking black and white bee. I’ve been trying to identify it since then, but I can’t seem to reach any conclusion. Any idea of what it might be?
Thanks in advance!
Signature: Dania
Unknown Bee
Hi Dania,
We don’t know what this Bee is, and we would need to do some research to get an identification. Sometimes that happens quickly, and other times it is more laborious, and occasionally, we never find an identification. Your photos are so lovely we are perfectly content to just post them as unidentified. We may eventually be able to provide you with an answer, and possibly one of our readers will be able to contribute some information.
Unknown Bee
Update: Possible identification
Helen provided us with a comment and a link to a very similar looking Thyreus orbatus. Here is a BioLib image that also matches.
¶ Posted 07 July 2011 § ‡ ° Not Carpenter Bees?
Giant Resin Bee
Location: Northeast Georgia mountains
July 1, 2011 2:29 pm
A group of 10 or 11 of these burrowing bees-wasps-hornets-flies hangs around a wooden bench made from a cayuco, which, in the Republic of Panama, is made from a hollowed-out tree. I brought this bench with me when I moved from Panama to the mountains of northeast Georgia. I even captured 3 groups of 3 of these guys and released them at different locations between 1 and a half and 2 miles from my porch where this bench sits. That left 2 that I know of. Within 3 hours, 10 or 11 of them were buzzing around again. I believe the captives had found their way back and rejoined the group. Huh? Although they’ve made holes similar to those of the female carpenter bees, from my research I don’t believe they are–these are too social and carpenter bees don’t have the ”smiley face” characteristic that you can see in one of the images. Besides, I have carpenter bees on my property and they don’t look like them. They’re not aggressive, as I& #8217;ve sat among them–even bumping them–without getting stung; assuming they have stingers. I could easily kill them, but I don’t do that. I was tempted to sacrifice just one to determine if it had a stinger, but I couldn’t even bring myself to do that. (No, I’m not going to capture one and hold it in my closed fist just to see if it’ll sting me.) I’m really baffled; haven’t found an image that even closely resembles them. Obviously, I’m missing something. I know someone’s thinking that I unknowingly ”smuggled” them as larva inside the bench when I left Panama. I left there 12 years ago, and these showed up only 3 years ago. Please help. Thank you.
Signature: Rob Lane
Giant Resin Bee
Hi Rob,
The first thing we have to say is that your action photos are spectacular. Though the Giant Resin Bee, Megachile sculpturalis, is an introduced exotic species, you had nothing to do with its importation. The Giant Resin Bees were introduced from Asia and they are now very well established in North America. BugGuide indicates: “They are opportunistic and nest in existing wooden cavities, rather than excavating their own. Effectively pollinate kudzu, another invasive species.”
Giant Resin Bees
Thank you, Daniel, for that rapid response. Had I seen any image like the ones in BugGuide (the link you provided) I’d’ve instantly recognized it. Although I said it, I didn’t mean that they actually “made” the holes like the carpenter bees do. This piece of cayuco was riddled with holes, and I did observe the “plugs” in their entrances near the end of their season. Do you think that those nine I captured and released actually found their way back?
Oh, and thank you for the comment on the action photos. I credit them to my Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ40 set at 1/160 shutter speed with flash.
Although I said that a cayuco is made from a hollowed-out tree, I failed to mention that it’s a boat (like a dugout canoe).
Regards,
Rob
For your interest I’ve included a few more images focusing on the wood of the cayuco:
This is stem of the boat; the flat part on the very bow. That hole at the upper right is cut completely through and is where the boatman would tie his anchor line. You can see traces of the resin, mud, or clay at the center of the stem.
Resin Bee Nest
Hi Again Rob,
We believe the Giant Resin Bees may have found their way back, but we cannot be certain.
Could you help me identify this bee?
Location: Colorado Springs CO
June 30, 2011 10:34 am
I grow a lot of flowers to attract bees. I was hoping you could identify this one for me.
Signature: ?
European Wool Carder Bee
Dear ?,
You submitted two different species. One is a Longhorned Bee and the second is the one we are really interested in posting, a European Wool Carder Bee, Anthidium manicatum. This introduced species is only represented on our site with two postings from 2006. According to BugGuide: “Females collect ‘wool’ from downy plants such as Lamb’s Ears to line their nest cavities” and “Males defend their territory very aggressively not only against other males but also against other flower visitors.”
Thank you for your response. Sorry I miss understood the “how to address the letter. My name is Eva. That is very interesting to see that the European Wool Bee has only been represented on your site so few times. I did submit a photo to the facebook site. Feel free to use the photos if needed. Best wishes, Eva
4
Male Carpenter Bee (Xylocopa varipuncta?)
Location: Hawthorne, California
June 25, 2011 12:46 pm
Hi Daniel,
This beauty (new to my yard) let me photograph him for quite some time yesterday. I’m curious as to what the three black things on top of his head are, can you help?
Signature: Thanks, Anna Carreon
Male Valley Carpenter Bee on Pincushion Flower
Hi Anna,
What a positively beautiful male Valley Carpenter Bee. We saw one visit the Buddleia or Butterfly Bush while we were in the garden. Then we remembered that we began to prepare your posting, so we came back inside to complete the preparation. Those are simple eyes or ocelli forming a triangle on the Valley Carpenter Bees head. There are some drawings and photos on BugGuide. We believe the simple eyes help flying insects navigate, but we are not certain of the exact function.
Ambush Bug Eating Honeybee
Location: Milton, VT, USA
June 25, 2011 8:56 am
I mentioned the Ambush Bug in my previous submission so I thought I would send you the photos of the one I saw that had ”ambushed” a honeybee in a Queen Anne’s Lace! The one I am holding is a second one that was in the next flower over. He/she had the coolest face I’ve ever seen on a bug (except for a cicada), kind of reminded me of a dinosaur. Anyway I hope you enjoy these, and I love this site. This site kept me from killing a pseudoscorpion I found in my closet that I thought was a tick!
Signature: Betsy
Ambush Bug eats Honey Bee
Hi Betsy,
Your letter inspired the entire editorial staff to go out and weed in the garden and observe insects on our grounds in Mt. Washington, Los Angeles. Many of the species of insects in the east that frequent Queen Anne’s Lace also visit the flowering carrots in our our garden. Pollinating insects love Queen Anne’s Lace and carrots as do predators that prey upon pollinating insects. The staff began to feel guilty that computers were abandoned and emails and comments were left unanswered so we returned to the desk, but we only felt guilty enough to post your letter and wonderful photographs before immediately heading back outside to the sun and activity.
Ambush Bug
Thanks Daniel! Your entire site today inspired me to go outside and take about 100 pictures of teeny tiny bugs! I even spotted a spider the size of a pin head that had caught one of those little iridescent flies on a milkweed, a perfectly matched green grasshopper hiding in milkweed blossoms/leaves, and lots of mating beetles! Our Queen Anne’s Lace hasn’t blossomed yet this year but I always look for the Goldenrod crab spiders and other interesting critters that reside in them on my walks.
Elisabeth
2
Percevejo
Location: Londrina. Brazil
June 23, 2011 10:07 am
That’s a killer.
Signature: Aloysio Paschoal
Predatory Stink Bug eats Stink Bug
Hi,
I’m sending the other photos by e-mail.
I’m having trouble to send the images. Always come back with an error.
Love the site
Thank you
Aloysio
Predatory Stink Bug eats Solitary Bee
Hi Aloysio,
That is one interesting Predatory Stink Bug you have there in Brazil. Your first photo shows it feeding on another Stink Bug that might even be an immature member of the same species. Your second photo shows it feeding on a Solitary Bee and the third image shows it feeding on a Bee as well. Your photos are excellent additions to our Food Chain page. We are copying our webmaster in the hopes that he is able to assist you with the technical problems you experienced.
Predatory Stink Bug feeding on Bee
interesting red ’bee’?
Location: west flank of west flank coastal mountains above pescadero, california
May 26, 2011 9:14 pm
found this pollinator on a ceanothus blossom, above pescadero, california. i’ve searched through google without success. can you provide any information? this is purely a curiosity question so there is absolutely no hurry. i am an ardent gardener and am in the early stages of introducing bee hives to our san francisco neighborhood.
thank you!!!
Signature: chris dillon, san francisco, ca.
Solitary Bee
Hi Chris,
We are supposed to be reducing the number of images we need for our presentation at Theodore Payne Foundation tomorrow, and your photo would be an excellent addition. We agree that this is a Solitary Bee, but we haven’t the time this morning to research the species. It sure is a pretty little bee.
Update:
Perhaps this is the Mining Bee, Andrena prima, which is represented on BugGuide from Oklahoma and Arizona.
good morning, daniel!
i’d be delighted to have you use my “red bee” image! i love taking pictures of insects…& being recently retired, i can now do so more attentively. i have a battered, because i’m clumsy(!), little canon power shot camera which suits my purpose very well. i had a wonderful time capturing this image!
she is beautiful!
the red bee was the only one of her type amongs a busy crew of more traditional honeybees and two very loudly buzzing, seemingly irritable & frantic, huge glittering black solitary bees. they were all engaged in harvesting from both fremontia and ceanothus plants/trees. the red bee pictured was much less “vivacious” than her associates. she systematically and thoroughly explored each petal of each flower which she chose to settle upon. i was at yerba buena nursery, a magical native plant resource, which is somewhat isolated on the western flank of the coastal mountains, between santa cruz and san francisco. kathy, the owner, was able to provide info on the black bees.
thank you for your request! i’ll now search for the theodore payne foundation which you mentioned…this retirement life certainly opens many “learning portals”!
chris
Daniel, A native bee on my bush sunflower
Location: South Pasadena, CA
May 27, 2011 2:30 am
At least I think it’s a native bee. It’s not a honey bee, and the flower is a native. As a secondary identification request, I’m curious about what voracious and unseen bug is eating the flowers
Signature: Barbara
Long-Horned Bee
Hi Barbara,
This is a Long-Horned Bee in the tribe Eucerini, but we are not certain of the species. We spent the entire morning editing the presentation for tomorrow, and just when we whittled the images down to the best, you send in this candidate.
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