Nevada Wasps and Bees

bald faced hornet, Nevada wasps

Thanks for visiting Nevada wasps and bees. The Nevada wasp world generally recognizes both the benefits and potential harms caused by the hundreds of vespid wasps or stinging wasps in the state.

paper wasp, Nevada wasps
Fortunately, yellow jackets and paper wasps, can be fairly easy to identify. Concerned residents need only know species and their nesting behavior to take preventive action if necessary.

The picture at the top of the page, for example, shows the Bald-faced hornet. It builds large nests, often in trees and bushes around the yard.

Eumenes, Nevada wasps
Eumenes wasps, one group of the potter and mason wasps, also fit into the vespid category. However, like all potter and mason wasps, they are solitary wasps that generally cause no stinging problems.

Boll's potter wasp, Nevada wasps
The red shading on Boll’s potter wasp makes it an easy ID

Abert's ammophila, Nevada wasps

Abert’s ammophila

ammophila picture

Ammophila

Black and Yellow mud dauber

Back and Yellow Mud Dauber

Blue Mud Dauber

Blue Mud Dauber

paper wasp and bee wolf
Comparing the size of a paper wasp with a beewolf. Beewolves are one of the many similar sized wasps and bees with black and yellow body colors around the home and garden.

leucospis affinia, Nevada wasps
A small parastoid wasp, leucospis affinis, is one example of the smaller black and yellow color garden wasps. Females have an ovipositor that curls up in the back

leucospis affinis male picture

leucospis affinis male

Prionyx wasp, Nevada wasps

Prionyx

great golden digger wasp, Nevada wasps

Great Golden Digger Wasp

Scoliid wasp, Nevada wasps

Scoliid wasp

spider wasp

Spider wasp

Bees


picture of a honeybee
North American hosts approximately one thousand different species, including its most familiar members, honey bees and bumble bees, along with less familiar names such as Cuckoo Bees, Carpenter Bees and Digger Bees.

Brown-belted Bumblebee (side)

Brown-belted Bumblebee (side)

Brown-belted Bumblebee (top)

Brown-belted Bumblebee (top)

Yellow-faced Bumble Bee (face)

Yellow-faced Bumble Bee (face)

Yellow-faced Bumble Bee (side)

Yellow-faced Bumble Bee (side)

Yellow-fronted Bumblebee (face)

Yellow-fronted Bumblebee (face)

Yellow-fronted Bumble Bee (side)

Yellow-fronted Bumble Bee (side)

Yellow-fronted Bumble Bee (top)

Yellow-fronted Bumble Bee (top)

bumblebee, Bombus californicus also called the California bumblebee

California Bumblebee

California Bumble Bee (face)

California Bumble Bee (face)

Western Bumblebee

Western Bumble Bee

True Cuckoo Bee
Hairless and small in size, Cuckoo Bees family resemble wasps more than they resemble bees, making them among the least known of the family.

The common name cuckoo refers to the bee’s practice of brood parasitism, like it’s namesake in the bird world, the Cuckoo bird. Adults lay their eggs in ground nests of other bee species, and then let the young fend for themselves.

blue-eyed-digger bee, types of bees

Digger Bee

Blue Orchard bee with mites

Blue Orchard Bee

megachile bee

Leaf-cutter Bees (Megachile)

bee face of a longhorned bee picture, types of bees

Western Longhorned Bee (face)

 western longhorned bee

Western Longhorned Bee

 longhorned bee picture

Longhorned Bee

oblong wool carder bee picture

Oblong Woolcarder Bee

female European woolcarder bee picture

Female European Woolcarder Bee

male European woolcarder bee picture

Male European Woolcarder Bee

bee in the stelis genus, part of the family Megachilidae picture

Stelis

Northern Rotund Resin Bee

Northern Rotund Resin Bee

 digger cuckoo bee picture

California Digger-cuckoo Bee

least cellophane-cuckoo-bee picture

Least Cellophane Cuckoo Bee

leaf-cutting cuckoo bee or sharp-tailed bee

Red-footed Sharp-tailed Bee

 face of a male leafcutter bee picture

Western Leafcutter Bee

furrow bee picture, types of bees

Furrow Bee

Wide-striped Sweat Bee

Wide-striped Sweat Bee

fine-lined sweat bee

Fine Lined Sweat Bee (female)

male fine lined sweat bee

Fine Lined Sweat Bee (male)