Andrenid Bee - Andrena sp.
Order Hymenoptera -- abelha, ants, bees, formiga, vespa, wasps
Suborder Apocrita -- abeilles, ants, bees, fourmis, guêpes véritables, narrow-waisted hymenopterans, true wasps
Infraorder Aculeata / Superfamily Apoidea -- bees / Family Andrenidae -- andrenid bees / Subfamily Andreninae
Live adult bees photographed at West Chicago Prairie, DuPage County IL USA.

Adult Andrena Bee
Andrena is the largest genus in the family Andrenidae, and is nearly worldwide in distribution, with the notable exception of Oceania. With over 1,300 species, it is one of the largest of all bee genera. The typical appearance is brown to black with whitish abdominal bands. Some species have completely black abdomen without bands (e.g. subgenus Melandrena), while others have bands which are centrally interrupted (e.g. in subgenus Micrandrena), and others have red abdomens.

Females often show a black triangle at the abdominal apex (tip). In temperate areas, Andrena bees (both males and females) emerge from the underground cells where their pupae spend the winter, when the temperature ranges from about 20°C to 30°C. They mate, and the females then seek sites for their nest burrows, where they construct small cells containing a ball of pollen mixed with nectar, upon which an egg is laid, before each cell is sealed. Andrena usually prefer sandy soils for a nesting substrate, near or under shrubs to be protected from heat and frost.  --From Wikipedia

 


Paper Wasp
Polistes dominula

Great Black Wasp
Sphex pennsylvanicus

Cuckoo Bee
Nomada sp.

Bald-faced Hornet
Dolichovespula maculata
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