Black and Yellow Insects
Species with distinctive black and yellow colouring
27 species in this collection
Blister Beetle
Epicauta vittata
A striped black and yellow beetle that releases cantharidin, a chemical causing painful skin blisters. It is a pest of t...
Colorado Flower Longhorn
Brachyleptura champlaini
A slender, black and yellow flower-visiting longhorn beetle. Larvae develop in decaying hardwood logs....
Colorado Leaf Beetle
Leptinotarsa juncta
A close relative of the Colorado potato beetle with similar striped elytra but alternating dark and light brown stripes ...
Gaboon Ebony Longhorn Beetle
Ceroplesis militaris
A large longhorn beetle with striking black and yellow banding on its elytra. Its antennae are longer than its body in m...
Shaggy Rove Beetle
Emus hirtus
A spectacular, large rove beetle covered in dense black and yellow fur-like pubescence, resembling a bumblebee. It is as...
Spotted Longhorn Beetle
Leptura quadrifasciata
A black and yellow banded longhorn beetle with a tapered body and long antennae. It visits flowers in sunlit woodland cl...
African Mud Dauber
Sceliphron spirifex
A slender black and yellow wasp with an extremely narrow petiole waist. It constructs mud nests on walls and ceilings, p...
African Sand Wasp
Bembix capensis
A fast-flying sand wasp with black and yellow banding that nests in sandy ground. Females provision nests with captured ...
African Scoliid Wasp
Megascolia vittata
A very large black and yellow-banded scoliid wasp from sub-Saharan Africa. It parasitizes goliath beetle and other large...
Common Yellowjacket
Vespula vulgaris
An aggressive social wasp with bold black and yellow markings that builds large underground paper nests. Workers are vor...
Eastern Yellowjacket
Vespula maculifrons
A common ground-nesting yellowjacket with bold black and yellow banding on its abdomen. It builds large paper nests unde...
European Banded Ichneumon
Amblyteles armatorius
A striking black and yellow ichneumon wasp that closely resembles a social wasp. It is a common parasitoid of noctuid mo...
Malagasy Mud Dauber Wasp
Sceliphron madecassum
A striking black and yellow wasp with a dramatically elongated, thread-like petiole connecting the thorax to the abdomen...
Mason Wasp
Ancistrocerus nigricornis
A small black and yellow solitary wasp that nests in pre-existing holes and hollow stems. It provisions each cell with p...
Mud Dauber Wasp
Sceliphron caementarium
A slender black and yellow solitary wasp that builds tubular mud nests on walls and structures. It stocks each cell with...
Texas Striped Sweat Bee
Agapostemon texanus
A widespread metallic green sweat bee found across much of North America. Males have distinctive black and yellow abdomi...
Corsican Swallowtail
Papilio hospiton
A large swallowtail endemic to the Mediterranean islands of Corsica and Sardinia with heavily patterned black and yellow...
Emperor Swallowtail
Papilio ophidicephalus
South Africa's largest butterfly with bold black and yellow-green markings. Its caterpillar mimics a bird dropping in ea...
Frangipani Hawk Moth
Pseudosphinx tetrio
A large gray hawk moth whose larvae are among the most spectacular caterpillars in the world, with bold black and yellow...
Homerus Swallowtail
Papilio homerus
The largest butterfly in the Americas, with a wingspan reaching 150 mm and bold black and yellow patterning. It is endem...
Small Tortoiseshell
Aglais urticae
A familiar orange butterfly with black and yellow markings and a row of blue crescents along the wing margins. It hibern...
Small-eyed Sphinx Moth
Paonias myops
A pinkish-brown sphinx moth whose hindwings bear a small blue eyespot ringed in black and yellow. It relies on camouflag...
Snowberry Clearwing
Hemaris diffinis
A bumblebee mimic with largely transparent wings bordered in dark brown, a fuzzy olive thorax, and black and yellow band...
Common Clubtail Dragonfly
Ictinogomphus ferox
A large, boldly marked black and yellow dragonfly with a distinctly clubbed abdomen tip. It is a powerful flier that per...
Dragonhunter
Hagenius brevistylus
The largest clubtail in North America and a formidable aerial predator. Its massive size and bold black and yellow marki...
Golden-Ringed Dragonfly
Cordulegaster boltonii
The longest dragonfly in Britain, adorned with bold black and yellow rings along its body. Females have a conspicuous ov...
Japanese Goldenring
Anotogaster sieboldii
One of the largest dragonflies in East Asia with bold black and yellow body rings. It is widespread along mountain strea...