Herb of Midnite Bee <[log in to unmask]> asked:
 
Question:Please I.D. Some bees, or WASPs, or Hornets have set up camp in
our lawn. Their heads are green, yet their bodies have faint yellow and
black stripes. They live underground and cover up the hole to their nest
come ~sundown. Have you ever seen something like this?
 
There seems to be a gate-keeper guardian. One green head pops up and looks
around,  like it's watching its hole. These bees are digging up our lawn,
but so far no stings.
 
*******
 
   Usually identification by description is very difficult, but it would
appear that Herb has BEMBIX wasps, not bees in the yard.  They are very
heavy bodied and look like bees.  Some have bright green eyes; others have
bright blue eyes.  Their food:  They capture blue bottle flies that they
bring back to their underground nests for their larvae to feed upon.
 
   They seem quite harmless, though some species have a habit of buzzing
about one as if they will soon attack.
 
                                                        Adrian
 
Adrian M. Wenner                         (805) 893-2838 (UCSB office)
Ecol., Evol., & Marine Biology           (805) 893-8062  (UCSB FAX)
Univ. of Calif., Santa Barbara           (805) 963-8508 (home office & FAX)
Santa Barbara, CA  93106
 
***********************************************************************
*  "Discovery is to see what everyone else has seen,                  *
*         but to think what no one else has thought."                 *
*                                       ---    Albert Szent-Gyorgyi   *
***********************************************************************