Insects That Look Like Wasps

Cuckoo Bees

• Sharing the trait of their bird namesake, cuckoo bees lay their eggs in the nests of other bees. The larvae hatch quicker than those of the host's nest and eat all the available food as well as the other species' larvae. Unlike most bees, they do not have much hair on their bodies and are often mistaken for wasps.

Hover Flies

• Hover flies have the yellow and black-striped pattern commonly found on most wasp species and also share a similar way of flying. The jerky, side-to-side, forward and reverse hovering style of flight is common in both bees and wasps. In flight, hover flies greatly resemble wasps and only a close look at their heads really distinguishes them as flies.

Nomada Goodeniana

• The Nomada goodeniana is a true bee, but it looks just like a wasp with its elongated body and just a hint of hair near the base of its wings. It is related to the cuckoo bee and has the same method of raising its young in that it lays its eggs in other bee's nests.

Mydas Fly

• The Mydas fly has developed to mimic the tarantula hawk wasp. Both are a similar size and are black with smokey-colored wings. Not only does the fly look like the wasp, it also deliberately mimics a wasp's flight style by hovering and allowing its legs to trail behind as it flies. Unlike the wasp they resemble, they do not lay their eggs inside tarantulas.

Hornet Moth

• Barely recognizable as itself, the hornet moth has developed to mimic wasps almost perfectly. They are good copies, with clear wings, yellow and black stripes, an elongated body and a wasp-like face. Only close inspection shows the characteristic hairy body of a moth compared to the smooth thorax of wasps.