Hymenoptera

We went into Prospect Park on Saturday with a group from the Bee Watchers study. John Ascher of the American Museum of Natural History, whose fingers are visible below, led the expedition — which actually didn’t go very far since there were plenty of plants in bloom near the Boat House, where we began.

There are at least 230 bee species found within New York City. The following are just a couple of them. Some wasps are included as well.

Here’s the thing, the males of both bees and wasps do not sting. Hence the fingers here.


This female carpenter bee has powerful jaw muscles, to cut into wood. Your wood, dude: your house.
If it’s green, it’s probably a sweat bee, also known as the green metalic bees.