Insects: bees and wasps

Carpenter Bee (Xylocopa sonorina)
Honey Bee (Apis mellifera)

Ensign Wasp (Evania appendigaster)
Black and Yellow Mud Dauber (Sceliphron caementarium)
Black Delta Vespid Wasp (Delta curvatum)
Paper Wasp (Polistes aurifer)
Ichneumon Wasp (Meteorus laphygmae) ?
Ichneumon (Spolas sp.) ?
*Little Wasp (Spolas sp.) ?
*Black-bottom Wasp ( ) ?
*Miniature Wasp ( ) ?
Parasitic Wasp ( ) ?
Unknown Parasitic Wasp ( ) ?

Names preceded by an asterisk indicate common names that I have made up.

A close-up of a black bee on a white flower surrounded by green leaves.

Carpenter Bee

These bees bore holes in wood to build their nest.

Close-up of a small black insect with wings and antennae, attached to a thin black thread.
Close-up of a small insect, possibly a wasp or bee, clinging to a thin object.

Ensign Wasp

This wasp is a cockroach egg parasitoid.  It lays a single egg in a cockroach egg case where the developing larva undergoes five molts during which time it devours all of the cockroach eggs.

Close-up of a wasp on a wood and dirt surface.
A brownish, crusty patch on a green-painted wooden surface, possibly a small bump or mold on the wood.

Black and Yellow Mud Dauber

This nest is approximately 5 cm in diameter.  Specimen seen but not collected; thus identification remains to be confirmed.

A black wasp on a white window sill.
Close-up of a black wasp with shiny, iridescent wings and a curled tail, positioned on a plain gray background.

Photo of my specimen. Body length 4.5cm.
Also known as Mud-dauber Wasp.

Black Delta Vespid Wasp

Close-up of a wasp on a white textured surface.
A wasp nest attached to a wooden surface with a tiny insect on top of it.

Paper Wasp

This paper wasp nest is about 2.5 cm across.  Specimen seen but not collected; thus identification remains to be confirmed.

A close-up of a tiny insect, possibly a parasitic wasp, on a blue background
A close-up of a spotted insect against a blue background.
Close-up of a wasp on a blue background

Ichneumon wasp

This is an introduced ichneumon, a wasp parasitic on other insects. ID by David Preston of the Bishop Museum.

Close-up of a small, brown winged insect with large black eyes, long antennae, and delicate transparent wings, against a plain white background.
Close-up of a small insect with transparent wings and a long, straight antenna on a blue background.
A close-up of a parasitic wasp laying eggs inside a tiny insect.
Close-up of a tiny aquatic insect with large eyes and elongated body, possibly a caddisfly larva, on a blue background.

Ichneumon Wasp

This is an endemic species of ichneumon, a wasp parasitic on other insects.
ID by David Preston of the Bishop Museum.

Close-up of a dragonfly with transparent wings and a dark elongated body, resting on a light blue surface.
Close-up of a tiny insect with wings, long antennae, and spindly legs, reflected on a smooth surface.

Little Wasp

ID by David Preston of the Bishop Museum

Close-up of a small insect, possibly a wasp or bee, lying on a flat surface.
Close-up of a tiny, gold-colored insect or larva on a green surface.
Small yellow and black insect on a green surface.
A tiny, transparent aquatic organism with a small, rounded head and a long, thin body, holding a water droplet.

Miniature Wasp

This wasp is only 1 mm long.

Close-up of a tiny wasp, showing its wings, segmented body, and antennae against a blue background.
Close-up of a tiny insect or arachnid on a smooth surface, showing detailed body parts and legs.

Black-Bottom Wasp

ID by David Preston of the Bishop Museum

A close-up of a wasp or bee on a light background.

Parasitic Wasp

Body length about 1mm in length.

Close-up of a small, golden-colored shrimp with long antennae swimming underwater.

Unknown Parasitic Wasp

A honeybee on white aster flowers collecting nectar

Honey Bee

Intentionally introduced from California in 1857 to produce honey and pollinate crops.