Entomology

Tremex – Tremex columba – Siricides

August 3, 2021

The tremex looks like an elongated, cylindrical wasp . Its thorax is reddish-brown and its abdomen has yellow and black stripes. The coloring of the wings varies from amber brown to black. Adults of both sexes have sharp appendages at the end of the abdomen. The female also has a slender, elongated egg-laying organ called an ovipositor. The adult insect is between 2.5 and 5 cm long, […]

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Siricides

August 3, 2021

Siricides are similar to wasps . Adults have a massive, cylindrical black or metallic blue body. They are 2.5 to 4 cm long. Males are generally smaller, but more colorful than females. Sometimes they have yellow or red markings. They have four translucent wings and their flight is powerful and skillful. In both sexes, the tip of the abdomen ends in a lance-shaped appendage, […]

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Sphex ichneumoneus – Large golden sphex – Sphex

August 3, 2021

This insect owes its name to the short golden hairs that cover its thorax and head. It has black antennae and orange or amber wings. The legs are orange, except for the coxa, the part closest to the body, which is black. The large golden sphex has a slim waist and its abdomen is two-tone: orange-red for the front part […]

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Mason Pelopee – Sceliphron caementarium – Sphex

August 3, 2021

This wasp is black with yellow markings. She has a long, slender waist (pedicel) that measures about the same length as the rest of her abdomen. Its total length varies from 24 to 28 mm. Life cycle After mating, the female builds a mud nest. This is made up of several tubular cells the size of a date. Each […]

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Sphex

August 3, 2021

These insects vary in size (from 10 to 55 mm in length) with an elongated abdomen held in place by the thorax by a slender and slender structure in the shape of a characteristic petiole called a “wasp waist”. They can be all black or brown, or dark with white, yellow or red markings. The front legs of females often […]

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Blackish Rhysse – Megarhyssa atrata – Ichneumons

August 3, 2021

This insect looks like a large, slender wasp . Its head is yellow with a dark stripe between the eyes. The thorax and abdomen are dark, black or black-brown. The dominant color of the long legs is yellow. The four wings, elongated and narrow, are almost black. The female has an impressive dark brown ovipositor measuring 12 to 15 cm long. This species resembles two other […]

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Ichneumons

August 3, 2021

These insects generally resemble wasps , but they are distinguished by longer, more segmented antennae. In several species, the abdomen of females ends in a long filament that exceeds the size of their body. This egg-laying organ is called an ovipositor. The vast group of ichneumons consists of thousands of species that vary widely in size (3 to 50 mm […]

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Bicyrtes quadrifasciatus – Bicyrt wasp – Burrowing wasps

August 3, 2021

This black wasp has whitish or pale yellow, interrupted bands in the middle of the abdomen. The width of these lines decreases towards the tip of the abdomen. Its legs are clear and its wings amber or greyish. It measures 17 to 19 mm long. Life cycle The solitary female digs her nest in sandy soil. She goes hunting […]

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Bembix americana – Burrowing insects

August 3, 2021

This black wasp has greenish yellow stripes on its abdomen . Its legs are yellow, except for the part closest to the body. Its wings are transparent, with brown veins. It measures 13 to 16 mm long. Life cycle The solitary female digs her nest in sandy soil. She goes hunting and brings back paralyzed prey to the underground shelter that will serve as […]

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Social wasps

August 3, 2021

Social wasps are insects whose size is marked by a constriction between the thorax and abdomen. Workers have a sting at the end of their abdomen . There are two subfamilies of social wasps in Quebec. Vespines, or true wasps, are black with yellow or yellowish-white markings on the abdomen, face, or thorax. Polistines are brown and have long legs. […]

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Megachiles

August 3, 2021

Honey bees are stocky bees with a black body (often streaked with light hairy bands on the abdomen) and a broad head. The species present in Quebec are 5 to 20 mm long. The two pairs of wings are transparent. Under the abdomen of the female is a ventral brush furnished with short hairs. The male is generally smaller than the female. Life cycle In […]

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Bumblebees – Bombus

August 3, 2021

Bumblebees are large, sturdy insects with a body covered with hair. They are usually between 6 and 25mm long. Their bodies are often colored black and yellow, sometimes with orange, red or white patterns. In females, the hind legs are modified to facilitate the collection and transport of pollen. Their abdomen ends in a sting. These insects form organized societies […]

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Honey bees – Apis mellifera

August 3, 2021

This insect with a hairy body has an inconspicuous size. Its mouthparts are of the grinder-licker type . Its thorax has two pairs of wings which are attached together by hooks. This species has three castes: the queen, the workers and the drones. The queen is the largest bee in the colony. It measures 16 to 20 mm long. Its pointed abdomen extends far beyond the […]

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Alfalfa Leaf Cutter Bee – Megachile rotundata

August 3, 2021

It is smaller than our native megachiles (5-9mm long rather than 9-20). It is a stocky bee with a broad head. Under the abdomen of the female is a ventral brush furnished with short, coarse, silvery gray hairs. Life cycle Adult bees emerge from individual cells where they have overwintered. Mating takes place as soon as the females emerge, which emerge after the […]

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Solitary bees and social bees

August 3, 2021

Apoids are all bees, whether social or solitary. The drones , which are regarded as bees, are also part of this superfamily of Hymenoptera . These insects have two pairs of membranous wings. When they fly, their wings are coupled by a row of hooks located on the hind wings. At rest, the wings disengage and are folded over the abdomen. Apoids have […]

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