Identification, Images, & Information
For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin
For the United States & Canada
 

Register · Log In
HomeGuideID RequestRecentFrassForumsDonateHelp
Clickable Guide
Moths Butterflies Flies Caterpillars Flies Dragonflies Flies Mantids Cockroaches Bees and Wasps Walkingsticks Earwigs Ants Termites Hoppers and Kin Hoppers and Kin Beetles True Bugs Fleas Grasshoppers and Kin Ticks Spiders Scorpions Centipedes Millipedes

Calendar
BugGuide Gathering
Pack Forest
Washington State
July 10-12, 2009
Details...

Photos from the 2009 gathering
 
Photos from the 2008 gathering in Tennessee
 
Photos from the 2007 gathering in Minnesota

TaxonomyBrowseInfoImagesLinksBooksData
Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Flies (Diptera) » "Nematocera" (Non-Brachycera) » Bibionomorpha » Dark-winged Fungus Gnats (Sciaridae)
Photo#47268
Tiny Black Wasp
Copyright © 2006 Chuck Entz

Tiny Black Wasp
Encino, Los Angeles County, California, USA
April 8, 2006
Size: 1/8 inch
At first glance it loked like a winged aphid, but it was running around a lot. I've been seeing these on flat surfaces all over my patio (in my back yard under an elm tree), but this is the first time I got close enough long enough for a halfway-decent shot. It was on several plants, but this shot is on cyclamen in a pot (Cyclamen persicum)

My last "little black wasp" turned out to be a bee, but I think this really is one.
tag · login or register to post comments
Contributed by Chuck Entz on 9 April, 2006 - 9:27am
Last updated 27 December, 2006 - 7:30am

Alas - Neither this one
Wing venation of this elegant small insect indicates a Dipteran, from the Sciarinae subfamily of Mycetophilidae (Nematocera). This group is sometimes treated as a family in its own right (Sciaridae).
Could well be mistaken for a tiny sawfly at the first glance, as long as the (two) wings are hiding the halters beneath them.
… Richard Vernier, 9 April, 2006 - 11:22am login or register to post comments

 
Thanks!
I don't mind being wrong, as long as the true answer is interesting :)
… Chuck Entz, 9 April, 2006 - 6:16pm login or register to post comments

Comment viewing options
Select your preferred way to display the comments and click 'Save settings' to activate your changes.

Disclaimer: Dedicated naturalists volunteer their time and resources here to provide this service. We strive to provide accurate information, but we are mostly just amateurs attempting to make sense of a diverse natural world. If you need expert professional advice, contact your local extension office.

Contributors own the copyright to and are solely responsible for contributed content.
Click the contributor's name for licensing and usage information.
Everything else copyright © 2003-2009 Iowa State University, unless otherwise noted.

Bugguide is hosted by Iowa State University Entomology.

Printer Friendly Version 		Terms of Use
Privacy Policy
Site Map
Contact