At 11:00 PM 8/16/98 -0400, you wrote:
>Since we are talking about different bees, I thought I
>would ask the list about the following:  A friend said they
>saw a bee which was larger than a honeybee but it was
>all black with one or two GREEN stripes on the tail end.
>I have never seen such a bee.  Anyone have any idea
>what it might bee?
>
 
We have a nest of these on the front of our garage.  We have been watching
the nest grow from the beginning and I believe that it is some variety of
hornet or wasp.
 
The nest is round and made of paper.  It started as a small inverted bottle
shape.  The queen and workers have been adding layers all summer and it is
larger than a basketball right now.
 
They seem quite gentle.  Each time we open the garage door, the nest is
disturbed and the hornets fly all around but not one has tried to sting any
of my family.  Several times I have found my head about 1 foot away from
the hive and I have never been attacked.
 
My 3 bee hives are about 300 feet away and on the other side of the house.
I have not seen them around the beehives or any evidence that they are
attacking my bees.
 
Let me know if you get a name for these.
 
Thanks,
 
Tom - 3 hives in northern Illinois