Thread: Wasp or bee?
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Old 06-04-2011, 09:51 AM
echinosum echinosum is offline
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First recorded activity by GardenBanter: Feb 2006
Location: Chalfont St Giles
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rod[_5_] View Post
It's hard to tell from that picture if it has 2pairs of wings (Bee and
wasp family) or one pair (Diptera - flies)
Several flies mimic bees, the many species have widely differing life
cycles and behaviour.
Very many species of bees, most solitary or making small colonies
unlike the very large colonies - up to many tens of thousands for
honeybees.
It's obviously not a fly from the look of its eyes and mouth parts. This is much the easiest way to tell a wasp from a fly-imitator. Have a look at the eyes/mouth of a bee-fly or hoverfly, and you'll soon see the obvious and large difference.