White-tailed Bumblebee vs Blue Horntail

Side-by-side species comparison

White-tailed Bumblebee

A common bumblebee with two yellow bands and a white tail. Part of a complex of similar-looking species.

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Actually comprises three nearly identical species only reliably separated by DNA analysis or chemical signatures.

A metallic blue-black horntail wasp found across the Northern Hemisphere. It breeds in recently dead or dying spruce and fir trees.

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Adults sometimes emerge from milled lumber years later, boring clean round exit holes through flooring or walls.