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Common Name: Honey bee
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Apidae
Photo Credit: John Obermeyer, Purdue University
Pest Status: Honey bees are an extremely valuable insect, not only
because they have been domesticated and produce honey and wax,
but also because they are efficient plant pollinators.
Appearance: Honey bees are about ½-inch long and have brown,
hairy, yellow-striped abdomens.
Life Cycle: Bees are social insects. Eggs are laid singly in cells
in a wax honeycomb that is produced by the worker bees. Larvae
are initially fed with jelly produced by the worker bees, but they
eventually switch to honey and pollen. The larvae undergo several
moltings before spinning a cocoon and pupating. Drones hatch
from unfertilized eggs and females hatch from fertilized eggs.
Where to Collect: Honey bees can be easily found around flowers
and flowering trees. Beekeepers raise them in artificial hives by
the thousands.
Common Name: Horntail
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Siricidae
Pest Status: Horntail wasps are seldom found in sufficient
numbers to be considered pests.
Appearance: Adults resemble typical wasps, but each has a long
abdomen with a spear-like plate on the last abdominal segment.
They are relatively large and vary in length from ½ to ¾ inch. The
females are marked with bright yellow and black and have long
ovipositors. Males are mostly black.
Life Cycle: Females deposit their eggs in “drilled” holes in the
bark of trees. The larvae hatch and bore down into the tree, living
there for up to two years before they pupate. When the adults
emerge, they leave small holes in the timber.
Where to Collect: Horntails can be found where there are many
dead, dying, or recently felled trees.
Photo Credit: John Obermeyer, Purdue University
Common Name: Horse fly
Order: Diptera
Family: Tabanidae
Pest Status: Horse flies are vicious biters and may draw blood
from people, as well as from horses and other animals.
Appearance: Horse flies are large (¾- to 1-inch long) and heavybodied
with large heads. They can be brown, black, or gray and
their eyes are sometimes crossed with red-gold bands.
Life Cycle: Eggs are deposited in masses on vegetation near water.
The eggs hatch within two weeks and the larvae drop down and
burrow into moist soil found in marshes, stream banks, and
bottoms of lakes and ponds. The larvae overwinter in these soils
and eventually mature in the late spring. Pupation occurs in drier
soil and usually lasts one week. The adults appear in early summer.
Where to Collect: Horse flies are most active in hot weather. They
also prefer wet environments.
Photo Credit: John Obermeyer, Purdue University