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What can you teach me about parasitic wasps...

 
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Specifically the ones that prey on my mason bees?

I'm conflicted. I try to protect part of my mason bees by bringing the tubes inside once the adult bed die but I also want to encourage stronger populations that don't need my interference. These tiny black wasps swarm any bee tubes I leave outside. They are the size of fruit flies. Anyone know their name? Do they prey on other insects too, or just bees? Do they also pollinate? Are these wasps an important part of the ecosystem or something that shouldn't be here? Trying to put it in positive perspective if there is one...

 
Jenny Wright
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Answering my own questions, they are called monodontomerus wasp. They were released in North America to control the saw fly that was accidentally introduced here. https://nurturing-nature.co.uk/wildlife-garden-videos/monodontomerus-wasp-a-parasitoid-of-red-mason-bees-and-its-life-cycle-video/

The sawfly fact is very interesting to me. A couple years ago, I had a big issue with pear sawflies but each year, they were less and less without me doing anything except pick random larva off the leaves of my pear trees. Now I'm curious if the wasps had anything to do with the pear sawflies disappearing. Because I have not seen a single sawfly this year.
 
We find this kind of rampant individuality very disturbing. But not this tiny ad:
better than an outhouse, and can be indoors
https://www.richsoil.com/willow
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