# What insects are these?



## virginiawolf (Feb 18, 2011)

I am up in the woods in PA. I saw some insects that I was unfamiliar with enjoying some comb that I left out. I can only describe the one as a moth, fly, Bumble Bee. There were some variations of flies and little bees that looked like small honey bees and there were small long black flying insects that were cool looking and other things. They looked so happy to be out flying. It was quite nice to see them. Please let me know what these are. Thank You!


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## wags (Feb 17, 2014)

The one in the first photo, looks like a black wasp - but I could be wrong.


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## G3farms (Jun 13, 2009)

First one looks like a dirt dauber, she might be collecting pollen, they usually collect spiders for their young.


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

Picture #1 I see a wasp and a fly. Picture #2 I see honey bees, a fly, and some small bees whose names I don't know for sure. Photo #3 a fly and bees.


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## virginiawolf (Feb 18, 2011)

Thank You, Happy Mother's Day. I guess the first one is a horse fly which there are numerous variations of. There were some sweat bees in there that looked like little honey bees and the black one I think is a Halictid (Sweat) Bee. It's amazing that there are even smaller bees with details like honey bees. The wax really brought out the flying insects. I saw some other wasps and bees as well that were beautiful that day that I didn't get pictures of. Nothing was attempting to rob out the bees yet so it didn't seem detrimental to leave the combs laying out but I will be cautious with doing this much longer.

I found this insect identification link and it covers some that I hope to see as time goes on.

http://www.insectidentification.org/insects-by-state.asp?thisState=Pennsylvania


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## gunho23 (Jan 12, 2013)

The wasp looking insect in the first picture...I planted four Apple trees two years ago and one day I walked outside and the trees were covered with these things eating the leaves, I got them all off but the next day what leaves were left had turned black and remained on the trees.


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## virginiawolf (Feb 18, 2011)

I am learning from the tiny bit of looking on the web about these sweat bees that there are many variations of these.
I didn't know that they would eat leaves. Did your apple trees survive the leaf eating? I have 2 that I planted this year. It's my first time trying to grow apple trees.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halictidae


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## gunho23 (Jan 12, 2013)

virginiawolf said:


> I am learning from the tiny bit of looking on the web about these sweat bees that there are many variations of these.
> I didn't know that they would eat leaves. Did your apple trees survive the leaf eating? I have 2 that I planted this year. It's my first time trying to grow apple trees.
> 
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halictidae


I'm not sure that they were sweat bees, that was a while back and can't remember exactly what they looked like, but no the Apple trees died almost instantly, very odd.


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## gunho23 (Jan 12, 2013)

What is even more perplexing is that these insects did not touch my cherry trees that were planted 20-30 feet away, only the Apples.


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## virginiawolf (Feb 18, 2011)

Huh, someone has surely seen something similar happen to their trees what happened to your trees but I haven't. I can only guess that the trees were about to die anyway and it caused them to produce some scented nutrients. The insects smelled it and came and sucked the last life out of the trees. I'm just guessing though. That article on the sweat bees describes some of them as looking like little wasps so I thought it was some form of sweat bee but the closest picture that I found is showing that it is a small black wasp like you all were saying. Some of the pictures that I found initially in search of these were close but not exact. This looks just like the little one in the top pick. 

http://bugguide.net/node/view/399930

This must be the big version
Great Black Wasp -- Sphex pennsylvanicus 

http://www.pbase.com/crocodile/image/34100055


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