Bees, wasps and ants make up a small but familiar portion (Aculeata) of the order Hymenoptera. They are familiar as they are often feared because of their stings.
Bees – There are many more bees in the super family Apoidea than the honey bees and bumble bees that first come to mind. There are 254 species of bees in the British Isles. The honey bee (Apis mellifera) has a black-and-gold coloured body, measuring 12 – 15 mm in length, that is covered in short hairs. Bees are on the wing from April through October, although in the south where it is warmer these may vary. There are 24 species of bumblebee in the UK with common bumblebees, measuring 11 – 15 mm in length, having two (Bombus terrestris) or three yellow stripes (Bombus hortorum) along with a white or red tail (Bombus lapidarius) or even being all ginger (Bombus pascuorum). Bumblebees are on the wing from February through September, although in the south where it is warmer these may vary.
Wasps – Wasps and ants belong to the super family Vespoidea. There are ~9000 species of wasp and 7 species of social wasps (family Vespidae) in the UK. The most common of these are the common wasp (Vespula vulgaris) and the german wasp (Vespula germanica), measuring measure 11-17 mm in length, which are easily recognised by black and yellow stripes. They are expert fliers and can fly up, down, forwards and backwards. Wasps are on the wing from April through October, although in the south where it is warmer these may vary.
Ants – There are approximately 50 species of ants (Family Formicidae) in the UK and are important for fishing when flying during the mating flights. These swarms of flying males and queens occurs when ant nests in a wide area produce winged ants at the same time. There is no set timing but usually occurs in July during warm humid weather that follows a spell of wet weather. These ants can very in colour from red (Myrmica rubra; Formica rufa) to yellow (Lasius flavus) and black (Lasius niger) and measure 5 – 10 mm in length.
Flies that can be used to mimic these insects:
If you tie and don’t buy:
Tight Lines
Greg