Hymenoptera
Hymenoptera covers the most behaviorally complex insects on Earth, including all the ants, the social wasps, and the bees. The order divides into Symphyta, the broad-waisted sawflies whose larvae feed externally on plants, and Apocrita, the narrow-waisted wasps, ants, and bees with a constriction between the first and second abdominal segments. Many apocritans live as parasitoids, laying eggs in or on other arthropods so the larvae can develop inside the host. Honey bees, bumble bees, and a host of native solitary bees pollinate the majority of flowering plants in temperate ecosystems.
Tenthredinidae
Pin #102 · Hymenoptera · Tenthredinidae
NE: Lancaster Co. · 21 Apr 2026 · 40.87, -96.81
Collector: A. Angel
Preservation: point mount
Characters: Common sawfly; 'hugging' grass; abdomen broadly joined to thorax with no wasp waist; orange-brown body; serrate antennae; wings extending past gaster.
Ichneumonidae
Pin #101 · Hymenoptera · Ichneumonidae
NE: Lincoln · 22 Apr 2026 · 40.83, -96.66
Collector: A. Angel
Preservation: point mount
Characters: Ichneumonid wasp; orange slender body; antennae as long as body; very large compound eyes; wings iridescent with two recurrent veins.
Formicidae
Pin #98 · Hymenoptera · Formicidae
NE: Lincoln · 22 Apr 2026 · 40.83, -96.66
Collector: A. Angel
Preservation: point mount
Characters: Ant; brown thorax with darker gaster; elbowed (geniculate) antennae; single petiolar node visible between thorax and gaster; legs slender.
Encyrtidae
Pin #94 · Hymenoptera · Encyrtidae
NE: Lancaster Co. · 21 Apr 2026 · 40.87, -96.81
Collector: A. Angel
Preservation: point mount
Characters: ~2 mm metallic dark body; mesopleuron enlarged, convex, cushion-like on side of thorax; wings clear and iridescent.
Vespidae - Polybia sp.
Pin #105 · Hymenoptera · Vespidae - Polybia sp.
Guatemala: Melchor de Mencos · 18 Dec 2021 · 17.14, -89.27
Collector: FLAAR · ID: A. Angel
Preservation: pin through pleuron
Characters: Polybia paper-wasp colony; small dark bodies clustered on paper nest envelope; characteristic white rings around body
Apidae - Tetragonisca sp.
Pin #92 · Hymenoptera · Apidae - Tetragonisca sp.
Guatemala: Flores · 14 Feb 2026 · 17.07, -89.40
Collector: FLAAR · Photographer/ID: A. Angel
Preservation: pin through pleuron
Characters: Stingless bee; small yellow-orange body; clustered around resin nest tube; wings translucent in flight;tubular nest.
Vespidae - Epipona sp.
Pin #104 · Hymenoptera · Vespidae - Epipona sp.
Guatemala: San Miguel Dueñas · 21 Mar 2026 · 14.54, -90.82
Collector: A. Angel
Preservation: pin through pleuron
Characters: Vespid wasp; dark body; on side of stream; wings buzzing, trying to escape surface tension; pronotum triangular in lateral view; threadlike antennae.
Vespidae - Agelaia sp.
Pin #103 · Hymenoptera · Vespidae - Agelaia sp.
Guatemala: San Miguel Dueñas · 21 Mar 2026 · 14.54, -90.82
Collector: A. Angel
Preservation: pin through pleuron
Characters: Vespid wasp; yellow-and-black body; wings folded longitudinally at rest; pronotum extending to tegula; predator caught feeding on moth.
Formicidae - Stenamma sp.
"Pin #96 · Hymenoptera · Formicidae - Stenamma sp.
Guatemala: San Miguel Dueñas · 21 Mar 2026 · 14.54, -90.81
Collector: A. Angel
Preservation: point mount
Characters: dark slender body; elbowed (geniculate) antennae; two petiolar nodes between thorax and gaster; long legs."
Ichneumonidae
Pin #100 · Hymenoptera · Ichneumonidae
Guatemala: San Miguel Dueñas · 21 Mar 2026 · 14.54, -90.81
Collector: A. Angel
Preservation: point mount
Characters: Ichneumonid wasp; black body with orange legs; very long filiform antennae with multiple segments; slender gaster; wings folded over body, medium-sized ovipositor
Formicidae
Pin #97 · Hymenoptera · Formicidae
Guatemala: San Miguel Dueñas · 21 Mar 2026 · 14.54, -90.81
Collector: A. Angel
Preservation: point mount
Characters: Reddish ant; head and thorax pale orange-red; mandibles not visible; sparse pale hairs; full body and petiole obscured by mount angle.
Figitidae (Eucoilinae)
Pin #95 · Hymenoptera · Figitidae (Eucoilinae)
Guatemala: San Miguel Dueñas · 21 Mar 2026 · 14.54, -90.81
Collector: A. Angel
Preservation: point mount
Characters: tiny shiny black body on leaf; filiform antennae; wings folded over body; scutellar cup visible.
Ichneumonidae (Cryptinae)
Pin #99 · Hymenoptera · Ichneumonidae (Cryptinae)
Guatemala: San Miguel Dueñas · 21 Mar 2026 · 14.54, -90.81
Collector: A. Angel
Preservation: point mount
Characters: Cryptine ichneumonid; orange-and-brown body on leaf; long filiform antennae with many segments; slender gaster; mid-length ovipositor.
Apidae - Scaura argyrea
Pin #91 · Hymenoptera · Apidae - Scaura argyrea
Guatemala: Flores · 12 Oct 2022 · 17.21, -89.61
Collector: FLAAR · Photographer/ID: A. Angel
Preservation: pin through pleuron
Characters: Stingless bee; small dark body at resin nest entrance; head rounded; eyes lateral; builds tubular nest
Apidae - Euglossa sp.
Pin #90 · Hymenoptera · Apidae - Euglossa sp.
Guatemala: Chiquimulilla · 10 Sep 2024 · 13.87, -90.39
Collector: UVG · Photographer/ID: A. Angel
Preservation: pin through pleuron
Characters: Orchid bee; brilliant metallic green-and-blue iridescent body; 3 ocelli on vertex; large compound eyes; wings translucent with smoky tint.
Apidae - Apis melifera
Pin #89 · Hymenoptera · Apidae - Apis melifera
Guatemala: San Miguel Dueñas · 21 Mar 2026 · 14.54, -90.82
Collector: A. Angel
Preservation: pin through pleuron
Characters: Honey bee; banded amber-and-black gaster; thorax clothed in branched plumose hairs; pollen-collecting hind tibia; wings translucent.
Braconidae
Pin #93 · Hymenoptera · Braconidae
Guatemala: Antigua Guatemala · 03 Apr 2026 · 14.56, -90.73
Collector: A. Angel
Preservation: point mount
Characters: Braconid wasp; reddish-brown body; very small, ~5mm; long filiform antennae; gaster slender with fused 2nd-3rd tergites; wing membrane with reduced venation.