Minnesota Ants, Bees, Wasps and Sawflies
| Order Hymenoptera |
Hymenoptera (ants, bees, wasps and sawflies) is the order of insects that is characterized by having two pairs of membranous wings and an ovipositor specialized for stinging or piercing. The order includes ants, bees, wasps, hornets, sawflies, and horntails. There are about 125,000 known species worldwide, about 18,000 species in more than 2,000 genera in North America north of Mexico. |
| Recent Additions | |||||
| Elm leafminer | |||||
Elm leafminer (Fenusa ulmi) is a very small common sawfly. It is native to eastern Europe and Scandinavia. It was brought to North America most likely on imported elms. It now occurs in the United States from New England to the upper Midwest, in the Pacific Northwest, and in southeast Canada. Based on the scarcity of reports, it is still relatively uncommon in Minnesota. Adults are small and dark colored. Due to the small size of the adult, elm leafminer is most often identified by the damage the larva causes to its host plant. Mines are seen from mid-May to early June on American elm and slippery elm. The larva feeds between the upper and lower surfaces of the leaf. It creates a serpentine mine at first. That soon develops into a small blotch between two lateral veins, later into a large blotch on one side if the midrib. The mines are clear and the flattened, whitish-green or yellowish-white larva can be seen when viewing the upper side of the leaf. The infected part of the leaf turns brown and eventually falls off. A heavy infestation may cause the entire tree to defoliate, but the infected tree flushes again and survives. |
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| Black-and-gold bumble bee | |||||
Black-and-gold bumble bee (Bombus auricomus) is common, large, colonial bumble bee. It occurs in North America east of the Rocky mountains. It is common in southern Minnesota, less common in the north. It is one of the largest bumble bees in Minnesota. Females (worker bees) are up to ¾″ long. It is found in grasslands and open areas. It lives in small colonies of about 35 workers. Black-and-gold bumble bee is identified by its large size; there is a patch of yellow hairs on the back of the head; the thorax that is yellow on the front third, black on the rear two thirds, and has a very narrow yellow band at the rear; and the abdomen is black except for the entirely yellow second and third segments. |
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| Photo by Gerry Garcia | |||||
| Nomad bee (Nomada sp.) | |||||
There are more than 850 species of nomad bee (Nomada sp.) worldwide, more than 280 species in North America. Like other cuckoo bees (subfamily Nomadinae), nomad bees do not construct nests, but lay their eggs in the nests of ground-nesting bees. One to four eggs are laid in the cell wall of the host nest. The larvae have large, outward-facing, scissor-like mandibles. The first larva to emerge destroys all the other eggs, both those of the host and those of its own siblings. It consumes the pollen provisioned by its host, and emerges as an adult the same time as the host adults emerge. Nomad bees are usually black, black and red, or entirely red, with yellow, white, and/or red markings. Many species have red legs. The genus Nomada includes the only bees in North America that are entirely red. They have short, thin, and inconspicuous hairs on the body and no pollen-collecting hairs (scopa) on the hind legs. They look more like wasps than a bees. |
_02it.jpg "nomad bee (Nomada sp.)") |
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| Photo by Alfredo Colon | |||||
| Downy yellowjacket | |||||
Downy yellowjacket (Vespula flavopilosa) is an uncommon, medium-sized, predatory, social wasp. It is found in the northeastern United States from Minnesota to Maine, south to Virginia, and along the Appalachian mountains to northern Georgia. It closely resembles eastern yellowjacket. It is thought by some to be a hybrid between eastern and common yellowjackets. Others suggest that it probably arose as a hybrid but now queens mate with drones of the same species. The overwintering queen emerges from hibernation in April or May. She builds a nest of 20 to 45 cells and cares for the grubs as they hatch. In about 30 days the workers emerge and take over nest building duties. Through spring and summer the queen produces a large number of worker wasps. In mid-summer, the nest grows exponentially, as more and more workers become available, ultimately with 3,500 to 15,000 cells. Only the new queens survive the winter, hibernating under loose tree bark, in a decaying stump, or in another sheltered location. In eastern North America, four yellowjacket species, common, downy, eastern, and German yellowjackets, closely resemble each other, making identification difficult. Downy yellowjacket is distinguished from the others by a continuous, uninterrupted yellow band on the face below the compound eye; and by the shape and pattern of black markings on the first and second abdominal segments. |
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| Photo by Bill Reynolds | |||||
| Two-spotted bumble bee | |||||
Two-spotted bumble bee (Bombus bimaculatus) is small, colonial bumble bee. It is common in eastern North America and in Minnesota. It emerges very early in the spring and is active until mid-summer. Two-spotted bumble bee usually nests underground but sometimes in the cavity of a dead tree. Like other bumble bees, it will sting to protect itself or its nest. The stinger is not barbed and the bee can sting multiple times. It feeds on the pollen and nectar of flowers. It has a very long tongue that allows it to feed on nectar of plants with long corolla tubes. Two-spotted bumble bee is identified by the thorax which is yellow except for a small, round, black spot in the middle; the first abdominal segment is entirely yellow, the second has a broad, yellow, W-shaped spot in the middle, and the remaining (on the female) are all black; and the hairs on the back of the head are yellow. |
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| Photo by Christa Rittberg | |||||
| Other Recent Additions | |||||
long-horned bee (Melissodes spp.) four-banded stink bug hunter wasp (Bicyrtes quadrifasciatus) oak gall wasp (Amphibolips cookii) larger empty oak apple wasp (Amphibolips quercusinanis) roseslug (Endelomyia aethiops) pigeon tremex (Tremex columba) |
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| Photo by Dan W. Andree | |||||
This list includes only ants, bees, wasps and sawflies that have been recorded in Minnesota, but not all of the ants, bees, wasps and sawflies found in Minnesota. |
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agile long-horned bee (Melissodes agilis) |
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alternate cuckoo-leaf-cutter bee (Coelioxys alternatus) |
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American ant (Myrmica americana) |
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American bumble bee (Bombus pensylvanicus) |
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bald-spot sweat bee (Lasioglossum paraforbesii) |
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bellflower resin bee (Megachile campanulae) |
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bi-lobed cuckoo sweat bee (Sphecodes confertus) |
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black-and-gray leaf-cutter bee (Megachile melanophaea) |
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black and red horntail (Urocerus cressoni) |
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black-headed ash sawfly (Tethida cordigera) |
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blood-red ant (Formica sanguinea) |
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blue orchard bee (Osmia lignaria lignaria) |
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blue-winged wasp (Scolia dubia) |
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braconid wasp (Atanycolus charus) |
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braconid wasp (Atanycolus crassicruris) |
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braconid wasp (Atanycolus longicauda) |
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braconid wasp (Atanycolus nigropyga) |
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braconid wasp (Atanycolus niteofrons) |
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braconid wasp (Atanycolus rugosiventris) |
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braconid wasp (Atanycolus simplex) |
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braconid wasp (Atanycolus ulmicola) |
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brown-headed ash sawfly (Tomostethus multicinctus) |
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brown-winged striped sweat bee (Agapostemon splendens) |
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chalcid wasp (Melittobia spp.) |
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cherry gall wasp (Cynips quercusfolii) |
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common little leaf-cutter bee (Megachile brevis) |
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common sawfly (Macrophya flavolineata) |
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common sawfly (Macrophya fumator) |
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common sawfly (Macrophya tibiator) |
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common sawfly (Monophadnoides spp.) |
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common yellowjacket (Vespula alascensis) |
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confusing bumble bee (Bombus perplexus) |
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confusing furrow bee (Halictus confusus) |
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confusing long-horned bee (Melissodes confusa) |
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constrained cuckoo carder bee (Stelis coarctatus) |
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cornfield ant (Lasius alienus) |
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Cresson’s sweat bee (Lasioglossum cressonii) |
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cuckoo wasp (Chrysura smaragdula) |
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cuckoo wasp (Family Chrysididae) |
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cuckoo wasp (Hedychrum confusum) |
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cuckoo wasp (Muesbeckidium obsoletum) |
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cuckoo wasp (Trichrysis doriae) |
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cyclops cuckoo sweat bee (Sphecodes heraclei) |
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Davis’s cuckoo sweat bee (Sphecodes davisii) |
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denticulate long-horned bee (Melissodes denticulatus) |
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Drury’s long-horned bee (Melissodes druriellus) |
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dull-breasted sweat bee (Lasioglossum pectorale) |
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dusky birch sawfly (Croesus latitarsus) |
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eastern black carpenter ant (Camponotus pennsylvanicus) |
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eight-toothed cuckoo leaf-cutter bee (Coelioxys octodentata) |
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European paper wasp (Polistes dominula) |
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European pine sawfly (Neodiprion sertifer) |
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flat-tailed leaf-cutter bee (Megachile mendica) |
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forest yellowjacket (Vespula acadica) |
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four-banded stink bug hunter wasp (Bicyrtes quadrifasciatus) |
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frigid leaf-cutter bee (Megachile frigida) |
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fuzzy mound ant (Formica lasioides) |
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giant ichneumon (Megarhyssa atrata) |
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giant ichneumon (Megarhyssa macrurus) |
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golden northern bumble bee (Bombus fervidus) |
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golden sweat bee (Augochlorella aurata) |
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goldenrod long-horned bee (Melissodes menuachus) |
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gouty oak gall wasp (Callirhytis quercus punctata) |
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green metallic sweat bee (Augochloropsis metallica) |
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ground hornet (Vespula vidua) |
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hairy-banded mining bee (Andrena hirticincta) |
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hawthorn leafminer (Profenusa canadensis) |
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high noon ant (Forelius pruinosus) |
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homogeneous cuckoo sweat bee (Sphecodes persimilis) |
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Hunt’s bumble bee (Bombus huntii) |
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ichneumon wasp (Cosmoconus canadensis) |
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ichneumon wasp (Cratichneumon annulatipes) |
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ichneumon wasp (Cratichneumon paratus) |
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ichneumon wasp (Cratichneumon pteridis) |
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ichneumon wasp (Cratichneumon sublatus) |
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ichneumon wasp (Cratichneumon tyloidifer) |
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ichneumon wasp (Cratichneumon unifasciatorius) |
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ichneumon wasp (Cratichneumon vescus) |
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ichneumon wasp (Cratichneumon vinnulus) |
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ichneumon wasp (Cratichneumon w-album) |
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ichneumon wasp (Lissonota acrobasidis) |
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ichneumon wasp (Lissonota atrimalis) |
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ichneumon wasp (Lissonota brevipappus) |
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ichneumon wasp (Lissonota brunnea) |
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ichneumon wasp (Lissonota conferta) |
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ichneumon wasp (Lissonota coracina) |
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ichneumon wasp (Lissonota crevieri) |
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ichneumon wasp (Lissonota cruralis) |
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ichneumon wasp (Lissonota cylpeator) |
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ichneumon wasp (Lissonota exigua) |
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ichneumon wasp (Lissonota exilis) |
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ichneumon wasp (Lissonota imitatrix) |
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ichneumon wasp (Lissonota parva) |
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ichneumon wasp (Lissonota punctata) |
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ichneumon wasp (Lissonota rubrica) |
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ichneumon wasp (Lissonota scutellaris) |
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ichneumon wasp (Lissonota stenostoma) |
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ichneumon wasp (Lissonota tegularis) |
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ichneumon wasp (Ophionellus texanus) |
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ichneumon wasp (Therion circumflexum) |
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ichneumon wasp (Therion fuscipenne) |
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ichneumon wasp (Therion morio) |
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ichneumon wasp (Therion nigripes) |
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ichneumon wasp (Therion petiolatum) |
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ichneumon wasp (Therion tenuipes) |
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ichneumon wasp (Therion texanum) |
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introduced pine sawfly (Diprion similis) |
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jumping oak gall wasp (Neuroterus saltatorius) |
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larch sawfly (Pristiphora erichsonii) |
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leathery sweat bee (Lasioglossum coriaceum) |
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ligated furrow bee (Halictus ligatus) |
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light bronze mound ant (Formica subaenescens) |
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little black ant (Monomorium minimum) |
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long-horned bee (Melissodes grindelliae) |
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long-horned bee (Melissodes wheeleri) |
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maple petiole borer (Caulocampus acericaulis) |
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Mary’s long-necked ant (Dolichoderus mariae) |
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masked bee (Hylaeus sp.) |
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mossy rose gall wasp (Diplolepis rosae) |
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mottled long-necked ant (Dolichoderus plagiatus) |
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mountain ash sawfly (Pristiphora geniculata) |
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New World mound ant (Formica neogagates) |
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nimble long-horned bee (Melissodes subagilis) |
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northern red wood ant (Formica obscuriventris) |
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oak gall wasp (Neuroterus exiguissimus) |
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odorous house ant (Tapinoma sessile) |
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orange-bellied mummy wasp (Aleiodes abdominalis) |
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orange-legged furrow bee (Halictus rubicundus) |
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pale mound ant (Formica pallidefulva) |
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pale-marked long-horned bee (Melissodes pallidisignatus) |
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parallel-striped sweat bee (Halictus parallelus) |
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pear sawfly (Caliroa cerasi) |
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pitted mound ant (Formica fossaceps) |
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potter wasp (Ancistrocerus adiabatus) |
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potter wasp (Ancistrocerus antilope) |
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potter wasp (Ancistrocerus catskill) |
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potter wasp (Ancistrocerus parietum) |
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potter wasp (Ancistrocerus waldenii) |
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potter wasp (Eumenes crucifera) |
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potter wasp (Euodynerus foraminatus) |
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potter wasp (Euodynerus leucomelas) |
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pugnacious leaf-cutter bee (Megachile pugnata) |
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red-bearded mound ant (Formica neorufibarbis) |
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redheaded pine sawfly (Neodiprion lecontei) |
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resin bee (Heriades carinata) |
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ruddy slave-making mound ant (Formica rubicunda) |
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rusty patched bumble bee (Bombus affinis) |
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Sanderson’s bumble bee (Bombus sandersoni) |
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sawfly (suborder Symphyta) |
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scalloped cuckoo sweat bee (Sphecodes dichrous) |
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sculptured resin bee (Megachile sculpturalis) |
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short-spined ant (Myrmica brevispinosa) |
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silky ant (Formica fusca group) |
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silvery field ant (Formica argentea) |
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small-handed leaf-cutter bee (Megachile gemula) |
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smaller carpenter ant (Camponotus nearcticus) |
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smaller yellow ant (Lasius claviger) |
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spider wasp (Auplopus archictectus) |
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spider wasp (Auplopus caerulescens) |
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spider wasp (Auplopus nigrellus) |
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Taschenberg’s long-necked ant (Dolichoderus taschenbergi) |
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thief ant (Solenopsis molesta) |
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thimbleberry stem gall wasp (Diastrophus kincaidii) |
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thistle long-horned bee (Melissodes desponsus) |
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three-knotted long-horned bee (Melissodes trinodis) |
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tickseed long-horned bee (Melissodes coreopsis) |
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tiny crazy ant (Nylanderia parvula) |
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tiny-queened field ant (Lasius minutus) |
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translucent oak gall wasp (Amphibolips nubilipennis) |
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two-spotted longhorned bee (Melissodes bimaculata) |
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Ulke’s ant (Formica ulkei) |
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valiant long-horned bee (Melissodes illatus) |
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velvet ant (Dasymutilla sp.) |
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very smooth sweat bee (Lasioglossum laevissimum) |
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Viereck’s sweat bee (Lasioglossum vierecki) |
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vigorous long-horned bee (Melissodes subillatus) |
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western thatching ant (Formica obscuripes) |
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white pine sawfly (Neodiprion pinetum) |
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white-horned horntail (Urocerus albicornis) |
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white-zoned furrow bee (Lasioglossum leucozonium) |
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wide-faced ant (Myrmica latifrons) |
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wide-footed field ant (Lasius latipes) |
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willow sawfly (Nematus ventralis) |
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winter ant (Prenolepis imparis) |
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wool-bearing gall wasp (Andricus quercuslanigera) |
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yellow shadow ant (Lasius aphidicola) |
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yellow-banded bumble bee (Bombus terricola) |
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yellowheaded spruce sawfly (Pikonema alaskensis) |
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yellowjacket (Vespula sp.) |
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_03.jpg "ant (Family Formicidae)")
_02.jpg "braconid wasp (Atanycolus sp.)")
_02.jpg "common sawfly (Family Tenthredinidae)")
_01.jpg "common sawfly (Macrophya epinota)")
_01.jpg "common sawfly (Macrophya pulchella)")
_01.jpg "common sawfly (Macrophya sp.)")
_01.jpg "common sawfly (Macrophya trisyllaba)")
_02.jpg "cuckoo_wasp_(Elampus_sp)")
_01.jpg "cuckoo wasp (Subfamily Chrysidinae)")
_01.jpg "digger bee (Anthophora terminalis)")
_04.jpg "grass-carrying wasp (mexicana)")
_01.jpg "ichneumon wasp (Aritranis director)")
_01.jpg "Ichneumon Wasp (Cosmoconus sp.)")
_01.jpg "ichneumon wasp (Cratichneumon spp.)")
_01.jpg "ichneumon wasp (Family Ichneumonidae)")
_01.jpg "ichneumon wasp (Lissonota sp.)")
_01.jpg "ichneumon wasp (Ophionellus sp.)")
_02.jpg "ichneumon wasp (Therion sp.)")
_01.jpg "leaf-cutter bee (Megachile sp.)")
_02.jpg "long-horned bee (Melissodes sp.)")
_08.jpg "nomad bee (Nomada sp.)")
_02.jpg "oak gall wasp (Amphibolips cookii)")
_01.jpg "potter wasp (Eumeninae)")
_02.jpg "sand-loving wasp (Tachytes distinctus)")
_01.jpg "spider wasp (Caliadurgus fasciatellus)")
_01.jpg "spider wasp (Pompilidae)")
_01.jpg "square-headed wasp")
_01.jpg "sweat bee (Subfamily Halictinae)")
_01.jpg "thread-waisted wasp (Sphecinae)")
_04.jpg "wood ant (Formica sp.)")
_01.jpg "yellow-faced bee (Hylaeus sp.)")
No Species Page Yet?
If you do not see a linked page for an insect in the list at left, or the insect does not appear in the list, you can still upload a photo or video as an email attachment or report a sighting for that insect. Click on one of the buttons below and type in the common name and/or scientific name of the insect in your photo, video, or sighting. A new page will be created for that insect featuring your contribution.
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Capitalization of Common Names
Insect scientific names are governed by the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN). Vernacular (common) names are not. In an attempt to “assure the uniformity of (common) names of common insects” the Entomological Society of America (ESA) published Common Names of Insects and Related Organisms. ESA has no rule or guideline that addresses capitalization of common names. However, the database of common names published by ESA does not capitalize common names. National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) also uses uncapitalized common names. Most other sources, including ITIS, BAMONA, Odonata Central, and the Peterson Field Guides, capitalize common insect names. MinnesotaSeasons.com will adhere to the convention followed by ESA and NCBI.
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