Subject: Bee with yellow tipped antenna
Location: Fairbanks, AK
May 30, 2015 6:30 pm
I found this unfamiliar bug on my deck. I’ve never seen one before . It’s larger than the usual yellow jacket.
Signature: Sarah
Dear Sarah,
Though this Elm Sawfly, Cimbex americana, is related to bees and wasps by being classified in the same order, the Elm Sawfly is incapable of stinging. We received two recent identification requests for Elm Sawflies, and because the other submission included images of the living insect, we featured that posting as our Bug of the Month for June 2015 though it appears it was also selected as the Bug of the Month for April 2013. Your submission is nonetheless quite important as we get very few submissions from Alaska.
Thank you! I saw a second one today in a driveway a half mile away. Sounds as if I should give a heads up to the entomologists at Univ. of Alaska, Fairbanks. You give me a starting place. Thanks again.