Ants, Bees & Wasps
Order Hymenoptera
642 speciesOne of the most ecologically important orders, including key pollinators and social insects. Many species exhibit complex social behavior and colony organization.
Species in this Order
Mistletoe Mining Bee
Andrena nycthemera
A striking spring-flying mining bee with contrasting black and white body hair bands. It is associat...
Mountain Ash Sawfly
Pristiphora geniculata
A small blackish sawfly with pale legs whose green larvae can completely defoliate mountain ash (row...
Mountain Bumblebee
Bombus monticola
A colorful bumblebee with bright red-orange tail, yellow thorax bands, and a black midriff. It is fo...
Mud Dauber Wasp
Sceliphron caementarium
A slender black and yellow solitary wasp that builds tubular mud nests on walls and structures. It s...
Narrow-headed Ant
Formica exsecta
A bicolored red and black wood ant with a distinctly notched head. It builds low thatched mounds in ...
Narrow-Headed Harvester Ant
Pheidole pallidula
A dimorphic Mediterranean ant with small minor workers and large-headed majors adapted for seed mill...
Neon Cuckoo Bee
Thyreus nitidulus
A stunning blue-spotted cleptoparasite that lays eggs in the nests of blue-banded bees. The cuckoo l...
Neon Trap-jaw Ant
Odontomachus coquereli
A large Malagasy trap-jaw ant with a distinctive reddish coloration found in Madagascar's dry forest...
Neotropical Hunting Ant
Neoponera apicalis
A large black ponerine ant with reddish-brown appendages and a powerful sting. Workers are skilled s...
Neotropical Paper Wasp
Polistes canadensis
A large reddish-brown paper wasp with dark wings that builds open-comb nests under eaves and branche...
Neotropical Pergid Sawfly
Acordulecera dorsalis
A small, dark pergid sawfly found across Central and South America. Adults have compact bodies with ...
Neotropical Stingless Bee
Tetragonisca angustula
A tiny stingless bee whose honey has been harvested by indigenous peoples for centuries....
Netelia Ichneumon Wasp
Netelia melanura
A large orange ichneumon wasp attracted to light at night. Parasitizes noctuid moth caterpillars. Ha...
Nigerian Driver Ant
Dorylus nigricans
A large driver ant species with massive soldier caste bearing sickle-shaped mandibles. Raiding colum...
Nocturnal Sweat Bee
Megalopta genalis
One of few bees adapted to forage in near-total darkness in tropical forests....
Nomada Cuckoo Bee
Nomada marshamella
A wasp-like cuckoo bee with red and black markings that sneaks into andrena bee nests to lay its egg...
North American Horntail
Tremex columba
A large horntail wasp found across eastern North America. It attacks dead and dying hardwood trees s...
Northern Bumblebee
Bombus hyperboreus
A very large, heavily furred bumblebee with orange and black coloring. It is a social parasite that ...
Northern Pitch Twig Moth Sawfly
Xyela alpigena
A minute sawfly that is part of the oldest surviving lineage of Hymenoptera. Adults have the distinc...
Northern Wood Ant
Formica aquilonia
A medium-sized red and black ant that builds large thatch mounds in boreal forests. Colonies can con...
Oak Apple Gall Wasp
Biorhiza pallida
A gall wasp that creates large spongy apple-like galls on oak twigs. It has an alternating sexual an...
Oak Marble Gall Wasp
Andricus kollari
A tiny wasp that induces marble-shaped galls on oak twigs where its larvae develop. The galls were h...
Oak Slug Sawfly
Caliroa quercuscoccineae
A slug-like sawfly larva that skeletonizes oak leaves in North America. Severe infestations cause br...
Odorous House Ant
Tapinoma sessile
A small dark brown ant that emits a distinctive rotten coconut smell when crushed. It is one of the ...
Orange Caterpillar Parasite
Netelia ephippitarsus
A slender, amber-orange ichneumon wasp found across Australasia. It attaches eggs to caterpillars an...
Orange Spider Wasp
Cryptocheilus australis
A striking orange and black spider wasp that hunts large ground-dwelling spiders across Australia. I...
Orange Twig Ant
Pseudomyrmex simplex
A bright orange pseudomyrmecine ant found in the Amazon basin that nests in small hollow twigs. It i...
Orange-tailed Mining Bee
Andrena haemorrhoa
A common spring bee with a ginger thorax and orange-tipped abdomen. It visits a wide variety of flow...
Orchid Bee
Euglossa imperialis
Dazzling metallic-colored bees that collect aromatic compounds from orchids. Males use collected sce...
Ordinate Large-headed Bee
Ctenocolletes ordensis
A rarely collected bee from the Kimberley region of northern Western Australia. It is known from ver...
Oregon Oak Gall Wasp
Besbicus mirabilis
A gall wasp that induces conspicuous galls on Oregon white oak in western North America. Galls form ...
Organ Pipe Mud Dauber
Trypoxylon politum
A slender black wasp that builds distinctive parallel tubes of mud resembling organ pipes under eave...
Oriental Hornet
Vespa orientalis
A large reddish-brown hornet with a distinctive yellow band on the abdomen. It is uniquely adapted t...
Pacific Cuckoo Wasp
Chrysis pellucidula
A brightly metallic cuckoo wasp with green-blue head and thorax and a coppery red abdomen. It parasi...
Pacific Velvet Ant
Dasymutilla sackenii
A medium-sized velvet ant with orange and black coloring found along the Pacific coast of North Amer...
Painted Dark Sweat Bee
Lasioglossum pictum
A small dark furrow bee with fine punctation on its thorax found in western Europe. It nests in spar...
Painted Mining Bee
Andrena fucata
A handsome spring bee with a red-brown thorax and banded abdomen. It is common in woodland clearings...
Painted Nomad Bee
Nomada fucata
A bright yellow and black cuckoo bee that parasitizes the nests of Andrena mining bees....
Pale-Footed Birch Sawfly
Profenusa thomsoni
A tiny black sawfly whose larvae create distinctive blotch mines within birch leaves. Mined leaves d...
Panda Ant
Euspinolia militaris
Not actually an ant but a wingless wasp. Named for its black and white panda-like coloring. Females ...
Pantaloon Bee
Dasypoda hirtipes
A distinctive solitary bee where females have enormously long pollen-collecting hairs on their hind ...
Panzer's Nomad Bee
Nomada panzeri
A wasp-mimicking cleptoparasitic bee that targets Andrena mining bee nests. Its bright red, yellow, ...
Paper Wasp
Polistes dominula
Builds open-comb nests from chewed wood fiber mixed with saliva, creating paper-like material. Has a...
Parasitic Acacia Ant
Pseudomyrmex nigropilosus
A cheater species that occupies acacia thorns but provides little defensive benefit to the host tree...
Parasitic Wood Wasp
Orussus abietinus
A small, dark-bodied wasp-like insect with a flattened head and short antennae inserted below the ey...
Parnopes Cuckoo Wasp
Parnopes grandior
A large and robust cuckoo wasp with a metallic green thorax and brilliant red abdomen. It exclusivel...
Patagonian Bumble Bee
Bombus dahlbomii
The largest bumble bee in the world, with queens reaching up to 40 mm in length and covered in dense...
Patchwork Leafcutter Bee
Megachile centuncularis
A solitary bee that neatly cuts oval pieces from rose and other leaves to line its nest cells. The c...
Pavement Ant
Tetramorium caespitum
A common urban ant that nests under sidewalks, driveways, and building foundations. They are well kn...
Peach Slug Sawfly
Caliroa annulipes
A small, shiny black sawfly whose slug-like larvae feed on the upper leaf surface of various fruit t...
Pear Fruit Sawfly
Hoplocampa brevis
A small, dark sawfly that is a pest of pear orchards. Larvae bore into developing pear fruitlets, ca...
Pear Slug Sawfly
Caliroa cerasi
A cosmopolitan sawfly whose slimy, slug-like larvae skeletonize leaves of cherry, pear, and plum. He...
Pearly-banded Bee
Nomia melanderi
A ground-nesting bee with pearly white abdominal bands vital for alfalfa pollination. Large nesting ...
Pennant Ant
Technomyrmex albipes
A small dark ant with conspicuous whitish legs that forms long trailing columns up trees. It is a wi...
Pergid Leaf Miner
Phylacteophaga froggatti
A small sawfly whose larvae create blister-like mines in eucalyptus leaves. Adults are small and bro...
Pergid Sawfly
Perga affinis
An Australian sawfly whose larvae form dense defensive clusters called spitfires on eucalyptus trees...
Peruvian Parasitoid Wasp
Capitojoppa amazonica
Described in 2023 as a new genus from the hyperdiverse Allpahuayo-Mishana National Reserve in Peru. ...
Pharaoh Ant
Monomorium pharaonis
A tiny tropical ant that has become a major indoor pest in heated buildings worldwide. Colonies repr...
Pine False Webworm
Acantholyda erythrocephala
An invasive European sawfly that defoliates pines in North America. Unlike typical sawflies, larvae ...
Pine Webspinning Sawfly
Cephalcia arvensis
A flat-bodied sawfly with long antennae and dark coloring. Larvae live communally in silk webs spun ...
Pipe-organ Mud Wasp
Trypoxylon figulus
A slender black solitary wasp that builds mud-tube nests in hollow stems and holes, provisioning the...
Pitted Resin Bee
Anthidiellum strigatum
A small, stout bee with bold yellow and black markings that constructs free-standing resin nests on ...
Plasterer Bee
Colletes hederae
A solitary bee discovered in 1993 that is a specialist pollinator of ivy flowers....
Platter Ant
Cataulacus intrudens
An arboreal African ant with a heavily armored, flattened body and sculptured cuticle. Workers have ...
Plum Sawfly
Hoplocampa flava
A small, yellowish-brown sawfly that is a pest of plum orchards. Larvae bore into developing plum fr...
Polar Willow Gall Sawfly
Euura arcticum
A tiny sawfly that induces galls on Arctic willow stems by injecting chemicals during egg-laying. Th...
Poplar Sawfly
Trichiocampus viminalis
A small sawfly with a yellow-orange body and black head. Its brightly colored yellow-and-black larva...
Potter Wasp
Delta unguiculatum
A solitary wasp that constructs small urn-shaped mud nests on walls and branches. Each pot is provis...
Prionopelta Ant
Prionopelta amabilis
A tiny pale amblyoponine ant found in tropical forest soils across the Americas. Workers are essenti...
Proceratium Ant
Proceratium silaceum
A small brownish ant with a distinctly rounded abdomen curving forward under its body. It is a speci...
Pteromalus Pupal Wasp
Pteromalus puparum
A small metallic-green parasitoid that attacks butterfly and moth pupae, particularly those of cabba...
Punctate Sweat Bee
Lasioglossum punctatissimum
A tiny, dark furrow bee with dense punctation covering its thorax and head. It is one of the most co...
Queenless Ponerine Ant
Diacamma rugosum
A large black ponerine ant found across South and Southeast Asia that lacks a morphological queen ca...
Red Dwarf Honey Bee
Apis florea
The smallest honey bee species, building single exposed combs hanging from tree branches. They are i...
Red Harvester Ant
Pogonomyrmex barbatus
A large red ant that builds conspicuous mound nests cleared of vegetation in arid terrain. Workers c...
Red Imported Fire Ant
Solenopsis invicta
An aggressive, reddish-brown ant with a painful burning sting. Originally from South America, it has...
Red Mason Bee
Osmia bicornis
A compact, ginger-haired solitary bee that nests in hollow stems and bee hotels. It is an exceptiona...
Red Velvet Ant
Dasymutilla magnifica
A large, brilliantly red-haired velvet ant found in the arid regions of the American Southwest. Fema...
Red-banded Netelia
Netelia testacea
A slender orange-brown ichneumonid wasp active at night in summer. It is an ectoparasitoid of noctui...
Red-legged Pimpla
Pimpla rufipes
A robust black ichneumon wasp with distinctive reddish-orange legs. It parasitizes a wide range of m...
Red-tailed Bumblebee
Bombus lapidarius
A jet-black bumblebee with a vivid orange-red tail that is unmistakable in flight. It commonly nests...
Red-winged Spider Wasp
Tachypompilus ferrugineus
A large rusty-red spider wasp that hunts wolf spiders and other large ground spiders. It drags paral...
Redheaded Pine Sawfly
Neodiprion lecontei
The most widely distributed pine sawfly in eastern North America. Larvae can completely defoliate yo...
Resin Bee
Megachile campanulae
A solitary bee that collects plant resins and sap to construct its brood cells....
Rice Stem Borer Egg Parasitoid
Trichogramma japonicum
A minute parasitoid wasp widely used in Asian rice paddies to control stem borer moths. It is mass-r...
Robin's Pincushion Gall Wasp
Diplolepis rosae
A gall wasp that forms spectacular mossy red-green growths on wild roses. Each gall may contain up t...
Robust Large-headed Bee
Stenotritus pubescens
A heavily built bee covered in dense pale pubescence found in southern Australia. It is one of the f...
Rock Ant
Temnothorax rugatulus
A tiny dark ant that nests in rock crevices at high elevations in western North America. Colonies co...
Rose Sawfly
Arge ochropus
A yellow and black sawfly whose larvae skeletonize rose leaves. Adults are commonly found on rose bu...
Rose Slug Sawfly
Endelomyia aethiops
A small, dark sawfly whose slug-like larvae skeletonize rose leaves by feeding on the upper leaf sur...
Rose-stem Gall Wasp
Diplolepis spinosa
A gall wasp that creates spiny galls on the stems of wild roses in North America. Each gall contains...
Rough Harvester Ant
Pogonomyrmex rugosus
A dark-colored harvester ant with a rough, sculptured body found in the Chihuahuan and Sonoran deser...
Rough Leafcutter Ant
Acromyrmex rugosus
A medium-sized leafcutter ant with a distinctly rugose (wrinkled) exoskeleton covered in short spine...
Rusty Patched Bumble Bee
Bombus affinis
A once-common bumble bee named for the rust-colored patch on the second abdominal segment of workers...
Sabre Wasp
Rhyssa persuasoria
The largest European ichneumon wasp, recognized by its black-and-white banded body. It parasitizes t...
Saharan Carpenter Ant
Camponotus aegyptiacus
A large black carpenter ant found in desert habitats from Egypt to Arabia. It nests in soil rather t...
Saharan Silver Ant
Cataglyphis bombycina
The fastest ant in the world, sprinting across Saharan sand at midday when predators shelter from th...
Sand Wasp
Bembix rostrata
A robust wasp that digs burrows in sandy soil and provisions them with flies. It progressively feeds...
Sandpit Mining Bee
Andrena barbilabris
A pale, sandy-colored mining bee that specializes in nesting in loose sandy soils. It is commonly fo...
Savanna Driver Ant
Dorylus gribodoi
A subterranean driver ant of African savannas that rarely surfaces, conducting most raids through un...