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Index of Subjects --001a11358436b976b5051eb3b7e2 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 Nancy: It looks like a freshly emerged adult Bald-faced Hornet, _Dolichovespula maculata_. As Randy pointed out you can see the long antenna. By my counting there are 13 segments, so this is a male. Females have only 12 segments in the antennae. You can also see how the eyes have an indent near the base of the antennae. This is a feature of the family Vespidae. This is the species that builds the paper nests in trees and shrubs. They can be quite large at this time of year. The males will seek out large females to mate with in the next few weeks. Males live for a week or two then die. No males overwinter. The large mated females overwinter and start nests in the spring. All the workers in the current nests will die in the next 6-8 weeks and the nests will be abandoned. Overwintered females start new nests each spring. There is syrphid fly, _Spilomyia fusca_, that is a very good mimic of the Bald-faced Hornet. Stuart Tingley has an interesting post about it in NB: http://birdingnewbrunswick.ca/group/beetlesandbugsforbirders/forum/topics/fooled-again-bald-faced-hornet-mimic-hover-fly-spilomyia-fusca BugGuide has some images of the mimic: http://bugguide.net/node/view/5891 and Bald-faced Hornet: http://bugguide.net/node/view/2890 DBMcC Georges River, NS David McCorquodale Georges River, NS On Tue, Sep 1, 2015 at 12:50 PM, Randy Lauff <randy.lauff@gmail.com> wrote: > This is a wasp, not one of the mimic Syrphid Flies. The antennae are much > too long for a Syrphid fly; the wings of your specimen are folded > longitudinally...this happens in wasps, but never in flies. > > Randy > > _________________________________ > RF Lauff > Way in the boonies of > Antigonish County, NS. > > On 1 September 2015 at 12:00, naturens <nancypdowd@gmail.com> wrote: > >> This Syrphid? Wasp? or? was on the window screen at 7:30am this morning. >> It was pumping the rear segments of its abdomen rapidly in and out: >> >> https://www.flickr.com/photos/92981528@N08/20874473299/in/dateposted-public/ >> >> It looks like some of the Syrphids on BugGuide but nothing I see quite >> matches. Would anyone know an ID? Details below image. >> >> Thanks, Nancy >> > > --001a11358436b976b5051eb3b7e2 Content-Type: text/html; charset=UTF-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable <div dir=3D"ltr">Nancy:<div><br></div><div>It looks like a freshly emerged = adult Bald-faced Hornet, _Dolichovespula maculata_. =C2=A0</div><div><br></= div><div>As Randy pointed out you can see the long antenna.=C2=A0 By my cou= nting there are 13 segments, so this is a male.=C2=A0 Females have only 12 = segments in the antennae.=C2=A0 You can also see how the eyes have an inden= t near the base of the antennae.=C2=A0 This is a feature of the family Vesp= idae.</div><div><br></div><div>This is the species that builds the paper ne= sts in trees and shrubs.=C2=A0 They can be quite large at this time of year= . =C2=A0</div><div><br></div><div>The males will seek out large females to = mate with in the next few weeks.=C2=A0 Males live for a week or two then di= e.=C2=A0 No males overwinter. The large mated females overwinter and start = nests in the spring.=C2=A0 All the workers in the current nests will die in= the next 6-8 weeks and the nests will be abandoned.=C2=A0 Overwintered fem= ales start new nests each spring.</div><div><br></div><div>There is syrphid= fly, _Spilomyia fusca_, =C2=A0that is a very good mimic of the Bald-faced = Hornet.=C2=A0 Stuart Tingley has an interesting post about it in NB: =C2=A0= <a href=3D"http://birdingnewbrunswick.ca/group/beetlesandbugsforbirders/for= um/topics/fooled-again-bald-faced-hornet-mimic-hover-fly-spilomyia-fusca">h= ttp://birdingnewbrunswick.ca/group/beetlesandbugsforbirders/forum/topics/fo= oled-again-bald-faced-hornet-mimic-hover-fly-spilomyia-fusca</a></div><div>= <br></div><div>BugGuide has some images of the mimic: =C2=A0<a href=3D"http= ://bugguide.net/node/view/5891">http://bugguide.net/node/view/5891</a> and = Bald-faced Hornet:=C2=A0<a href=3D"http://bugguide.net/node/view/2890">http= ://bugguide.net/node/view/2890</a></div><div><br></div><div>DBMcC</div><div= >Georges River, NS</div></div><div class=3D"gmail_extra"><br clear=3D"all">= <div><div class=3D"gmail_signature"><div dir=3D"ltr">David McCorquodale<div= >Georges River, NS</div></div></div></div> <br><div class=3D"gmail_quote">On Tue, Sep 1, 2015 at 12:50 PM, Randy Lauff= <span dir=3D"ltr"><<a href=3D"mailto:randy.lauff@gmail.com" target=3D"_= blank">randy.lauff@gmail.com</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class=3D"= gmail_quote" style=3D"margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-= left:1ex"><div dir=3D"ltr">This is a wasp, not one of the mimic Syrphid Fli= es. The antennae are much too long for a Syrphid fly; the wings of your spe= cimen are folded longitudinally...this happens in wasps, but never in flies= .<div><br></div><div>Randy</div></div><div class=3D"gmail_extra"><br clear= =3D"all"><div><div>_________________________________<br>RF Lauff<br>Way in = the boonies of<br>Antigonish County, NS.</div></div><div><div class=3D"h5"> <br><div class=3D"gmail_quote">On 1 September 2015 at 12:00, naturens <span= dir=3D"ltr"><<a href=3D"mailto:nancypdowd@gmail.com" target=3D"_blank">= nancypdowd@gmail.com</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class=3D"gmail_qu= ote" style=3D"margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex= ">This Syrphid? Wasp? or? was on the window screen at 7:30am this morning. = It was pumping the rear segments of its abdomen rapidly in and out:<br> <a href=3D"https://www.flickr.com/photos/92981528@N08/20874473299/in/datepo= sted-public/" rel=3D"noreferrer" target=3D"_blank">https://www.flickr.com/p= hotos/92981528@N08/20874473299/in/dateposted-public/</a><br> <br> It looks like some of the Syrphids on BugGuide but nothing I see quite matc= hes. Would anyone know an ID? Details below image.<br> <br> Thanks, Nancy<br> </blockquote></div><br></div></div></div> </blockquote></div><br></div> --001a11358436b976b5051eb3b7e2--