CLOSED: Big bee?

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HelloMissMary Memphis, TN Aug 15, 2010

I've never seen one like this before -- it looked capable of meanness, so I snapped this and left. What is it?

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suunto Sinks Grove, WV Aug 16, 2010

Sorry if this comes as a disappointment, but this is not a mean bee at all; it is Monobia quadridens, a potter/mason wasp (Hymenoptera: Vespidae; subfamily Eumeninae) - see http://tinyurl.com/2bowcva for an image. Unlike the more familiar yellowjackets and bald-faced hornets, these are not social insects, each female constructs her own 'nest.' Potter wasps get their name from the habit of many species' nests looking like miniature clay pots - see http://tinyurl.com/235rwqr for an example. However, this species is a cavity nester, the females utilizing hollow stems or abandoned nests of other solitary wasps or bees - see http://tinyurl.com/29lll5b for detailed information.

Post #8042545
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HelloMissMary Memphis, TN Aug 16, 2010

No disappointment. Thank you for identifying it. I'd never seen one before.

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