What is this invader??

[Kurt Molls]

I have had my shop for years and this fall/late summer is the first I have seen this cocoon type thing show up. Also about a month ago, these bee-like insects have been all over my shop. I have swatted 100+ over a couple days. They don't sting (or haven't yet) and they seem very lethargic, like prepubescent or like they are too cold to fly. I have squashed several heads with my finger.
I'm not sure if they go hand in hand, but it's what I am thinking right now.
What concerns me is that I have 1000's of BF of lumber and if they, or whatever came out of the cocoon, are wood boring insects I want to nip them in the bud.

I did some searching, but I have yet to find a matching mug shot.
Does anyone recognize either of these??
cocoon1.jpgcocoon3.jpgcocoon2.jpg
Thanks,
Kurt

[Andrew Howe]

I would reach out to do-it-yourself pest.control.online

[Fred Perreault]

It looks small like a honey bee, but that's all I can come up with. Good luck with the issue.

[Conrad Fiore]

It has the eye of a fly, not a honey bee. Take the samples to your local agricultural co-operative extension and they will help you.

[John Shuk]

Parasitic wasp. Harmless and helpful in getting rid of pests.

[Steve Meliza]

It has the eye of a fly, not a honey bee.

The common Italian honey bee has a compound eye, just like most insects. It's hard to tell in those pictures, but it doesn't quite look like an Italian honey bee so it could be a wild bee or maybe something else a beekeeper brought in.

Do you have more than one cocoon? If so I'd keep one intact and cut one open to see if the critter inside can be identified. You might also stick one in a mason jar with lid so if it hatches you can see the adult form. Your local farmer and gardeners are probably your best bet for and accurate identification.

[Kurt Molls]

The common Italian honey bee has a compound eye, just like most insects. It's hard to tell in those pictures, but it doesn't quite look like an Italian honey bee so it could be a wild bee or maybe something else a beekeeper brought in.

Do you have more than one cocoon? If so I'd keep one intact and cut one open to see if the critter inside can be identified. You might also stick one in a mason jar with lid so if it hatches you can see the adult form. Your local farmer and gardeners are probably your best bet for and accurate identification.

Yea, there are many of those cocoons, but all I have found have had something crawl out.
I've got one set bagged and will take it to the county ag center.

Odd thing... My dad is a life long farmer and my mom works at the local coop.
Thanks for the help!

[David Weaver]

Count yourself lucky if they are parasitic wasps (if they are, though, why are they not hatching out of something that they've eaten?).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLtUk-W5Gpk

[John Shuk]

I don't think it is a parasitic wasp actually. The little cocoon looks like the abdomen of some of the parasitic wasps around here so it threw me.
If you look at the following link, the grub pictured looks a lot like that cocoon type thing.
http://cyberbee.net/gallery/index.ph...s/beelikeflies

[David Weaver]

I've seen those this year, I wondered what they were. I thought maybe they were juvenile bees, but I've never seen juvenile bees before so that explains it.

Most of the parasitics I've seen look more like thin small wasps or like big flying ants. Still, if they're around, it's good luck to have them for what they can do to aphids and tomato worms and other pests.

[Belinda Barfield]

Mason Bees? From Gardener's Supply . . .

"Mason bee larvae hatch just a few days after the eggs are laid. They munch away on the food that’s been stored in their cell, which usually lasts them about 10 days. Then the larva spins a cocoon and pupates. By autumn, the insects look like an adult bee, but they remain inside their cocoons throughout the winter. When the weather warms in the spring, the males chew their way out first; the females emerge several days later.
Mason bees are very effective pollinators. Just two or three females can pollinate a mature apple tree! Mason bees will also work in cool or rainy weather when honeybees are more likely to take the day off. "

Males don't sting, females do. Can't tell from the photo, but flies have one set of wings and bees have two.

[Lee Schierer]

The common Italian honey bee has a compound eye, just like most insects. It's hard to tell in those pictures, but it doesn't quite look like an Italian honey bee so it could be a wild bee or maybe something else a beekeeper brought in.

All honey bees look alike except for color variations. Even the Killer Bees are nearly identical to ordinary honeybees that only a trained expert can tell them apart using a microscope. Beekeepers are not allowed to import anything without permits and tons of red tape. The insect pictured is not a Honey Bee and is most like a type of fly known as a Bee Fly.P_willistonii.jpg Here is more information on Bee Flies

[Steven Green]

College Entemology says: http://www.dpughphoto.com/pitt_county_arboretum.html. We have them around here as well.

[Kurt Molls]

Mason Bees? From Gardener's Supply . . .

"Mason bee larvae hatch just a few days after the eggs are laid. They munch away on the food that’s been stored in their cell, which usually lasts them about 10 days. Then the larva spins a cocoon and pupates. By autumn, the insects look like an adult bee, but they remain inside their cocoons throughout the winter. When the weather warms in the spring, the males chew their way out first; the females emerge several days later.
Mason bees are very effective pollinators. Just two or three females can pollinate a mature apple tree! Mason bees will also work in cool or rainy weather when honeybees are more likely to take the day off. "

Males don't sting, females do. Can't tell from the photo, but flies have one set of wings and bees have two.

Ohh, that was close, but I don't think so. All of the pods (like the photo I provided) have the "tail" which is about 1/2 the overall length.
I still am waiting on an answer from a couple sources I provided samples too...