Yellow-faced Bee vs Lunate Ichneumon

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Yellow-faced Bee Lunate Ichneumon
Scientific Name Hylaeus communis Megarhyssa greenei
Order Hymenoptera Hymenoptera
Family Colletidae Ichneumonidae
Size 5-7 mm 25-40 mm body, ovipositor up to 80 mm
Habitat Farmland Woodlands
Diet Pollen Feeders Parasitoids
Regions Europe North America
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Yellow-faced Bee

A tiny, nearly hairless black bee with distinctive yellow facial markings. It swallows pollen and carries it internally in its crop.

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Did You Know?

Unlike most bees, it carries pollen internally in its stomach rather than on external body hairs.

Lunate Ichneumon

A reddish-brown parasitoid wasp native to North America. It targets horntail larvae in hardwood trees and uses its long ovipositor to reach them.

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Did You Know?

It is the smallest of the three North American Megarhyssa species but still impressively large.