Scientific Name: Megachile mendica
Family: Megachilidae
Native Range: United States, Pennsylvania
Size:
Active: Spring – fall
Color and Appearance: Black body with thin lines of hair along abdomen.
Scientific Name: Polistes dominula
Family: Vespidae
Native Range: Europe. Invasive in North America, Pennsylvania
Size: Male wing length: 9.5 – 13.0 mm (0.37 to 0.51 in); Females wing length: 8.5 – 12.0 mm (0.33 to 0.47 in)
Active: Over-wintering queens begin nest building in early spring and start laying eggs in early March or April. Nests disperse in late summer. Founder queens and males overwinter.
Color and Appearance: Black and yellow
Scientific Name: Isodontia mexicana
Family: Sphecidae
Native Range: North America, Pennsylvania*
Size: 18–20 millimetres (0.71–0.79 in)*
Active: Early summer – early fall*
Color and Appearance: “The body is completely black, the thorax is quite hairy and the wings have a smoky-brown color.”*
From iNaturalist (https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/203340-Isodontia-mexicana)
Scientific Name: Tachypompilus ferrugineus
Family: Pompilidae
Native Range: North, Central, and South America, Pennsylvania*
Size: 15–25 mm (0.59–0.98 in)*
Active:
Color and Appearance: “A mostly reddish-brown wasp, with four narrow dark bands circling the abdomen, and with violet-blue wings.”*
Rusty spider wasps prey on spiders, especially wolf spiders.*
*From Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tachypompilus_ferrugineus)
Scientific Name: Polistes sp.
Family: Vespidae
Native Range: Species native to North America and Europe, Pennsylvania*
Size:
Active:
Color and Appearance: Yellow and black*
*From Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polistes)
Scientific Name: Scolia nobilitata
Family: Scoliidae
Native Range: Southern United States, Pennsylvania
Size: 10-15 mm (0.39 – 0.59 in)
Active: Summer – early fall
Color and Appearance: “Small scoliid with dark wings and reddish legs; abdomen dark with 4-6 light yellow/orange spots”*
*From BugGuide.net (https://bugguide.net/node/view/26760)
Scientific Name: Bicyrtes quadrifasciatus
Family: Crabronidae
Native Range: Eastern North America, Pennsylvania*
Size: 17-19 mm (0.67 – 0.75 in)*
Active: Summer – Fall*
Color and Appearance: “The increasing distance between the pairs of tergal bands posterad is diagnostic.”*
Adults forage on flowers. Females paralyze true bugs and provision their nests with them.*
From BugGuide.net (https://bugguide.net/node/view/41983)
Scientific Name: Myzinum quinquecinctum
Family: Thynnidae
Native Range: East and Central United States, Pennsylvania
Size: 16–22 mm (0.63 – 0.87 in)
Active: Late spring – fall
Color and Appearance: “Both genders have the wings darkened evenly overall. Males have brown tinted wings. Females have orange tinted wings. Females have red antennae, including the flagellum. Sometimes you can see yellow coloring on the scape.”*
*From BugGuide.net (https://bugguide.net/node/view/109316)
Scientific Name: Scolia dubia
Family: Scoliidae
Native Range: Eastern and Central United States to the Rocky Mountains, Pennsylcania*
Size: Length: 20 – 25 mm (0.8–1.0 in)*
Active: Summer and early fall*
Color and Appearance: “The head, thorax, and first two abdominal segments are black, while the remainder of the abdomen is red with two bright yellow spots on the third abdominal segment.”*
*From Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scolia_dubia)
Species: Pseudomalus auratus
Family: Chrysididae
Native Range: Europe, Asia, Africa; Introduced to North America prior to 1825, Pennsylvania*
Size: 3–7 mm (0.12–0.28 in)*
Active: May – October*
Color and Appearance: Metallic greenish head and reddish brown body*
*From iNaturalist.org (https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/466429-Pseudomalus-auratus)