Bees and Wasps at Cabo de la Huerta
Cabo de la Huerta has a Mediterranean climate with dry, warm summers and mild winters with an associated flora and fauna.
The
Cape sports a surprisingly large and varied insect population, including several species of bees such as the Spotted Red Resin Bee,
Honey Bee, Long-horned Bee, Pantaloon Bee and the Large Carpenter Bee.
Wasps are also present here, such as the Paper Wasp, several
types of the Digger Wasp and the elusive flightless female Velvet Ant.
Most people do not like flies, but on warm days they show
up in droves, mostly Flesh Flies, but also Robber Flies that ambush and catch other insects.
A comprehensive guide of all fauna
and flora in the Alicante region is here.
The photographs are from April 2024 through December 2025.
Sphex Pruinosos is another digger wasp
Large Carpenter Bees are, well, large
Pantaloon Bees are named after their hairy legs
a European Paper Wasp
this Long-horned Bee sports a yellow-brown coloring. Only the males have these long horns
Long-horned Bees come in all sort of colors, this one is mainly gray
robber Flies ambush their prey, mostly other insects
female Velvet Ants are actually wingless wasp, tiny but a hardy bunch
the Red-banded Sand Wasp hunts caterpillars and bury them with one egg
a Leaf-cutter Bee
a spotted Red Resin Bee inspect a flower for nectar
a Western Honeybee
this is a Digger Bee, these are hairy insects
this is not a bee, but a Large Bee-fly, that mimics a bee but actually is a fly
Sphex flavipennis is a large digger wasp that paralyzes its pray and feed them to their larvae
maybe Flesh Flies look nice, but on warm days they are a real nuisance