There are many species. I hope to expand this page in 2010

The left is a Large Rose sawfly. But the other sawfly is an other species. Perhaps an Iris Sawfly.
The Large Rose Sawfly saws a hole in a Rose (plant) and lays eggs

The larvae eat the rose. But usually there is not much damage,  because the larva has many natural enemies. 

In August I saw the larvae of the Large Rose Sawfly (Arge pagana) on the rose.
     

Iris Sawfly  (Rhadinoceraea micans)

There are other black similar species. Because they are found in the garden on the Yellow iris and because I had larvae of the iris sawfly,  I think this is the Iris Sawfly. The larvae can grow up to 5 cm long.
In June they move into the ground, spin under the ground a cocoon and pupate.
In May the sawflies appear, which deposit the eggs.

German: Irisblattwespe  French: Tenthrède des iris

Rhogogaster spec  Perhaps  a green sawfly (Rhogogaster viridis)

The larvae feed on the leaves of a wide range of plants and trees.  
The sawfly hunt on other insects and their larvae.

Figwort Sawfly (Tenthredo scrophulariae) 
It can be a similar species.

Also this is a sawfly, although it looks like a real wasp. It has the same length (15 mm) of many wasps.  But there is no real waist.
The adult wasp hunts on other small insects. The larva eats plants of the figwort family.

German: Braunwurzblattwespe

But...................

Op het forum "hymis"  I had the next question: I think Pamphilius spec. (25-5-2009 Bergen N.H. Holland) Is Pamphilius cf. marginatus possible?
The answer was: In Holland, P. marginatus is found mostly in Limburg, still very low outside this region. In marginatus yellow face, climb the inner orbit of the eyes and the abdomen is black with yellow spots over the sides.
For these reasons, I believe that this specimen is nearest to P. inanitus a species widespread in the Netherlands.
I must warn you, I'm no expert. Greetings,
José Luis Ruiz de la Cuesta

Thanks José

The light green larvae feed on the leaves of the strawberry. They can be found at the back of the leaves.
Two generations in a year. (spring and autumn) 
Length 6 - 9 mm.
They hibernate as a pupa in the soil.
It looks like the Allantus cingulatus, but in Allantus cingulatus the jaws in part and the labrum are usually white.
The Dutch name (translated) is strawberry sawfly. The English name shows, the larvae also like the leaves of roses.
Here you can read more about it.  http://www.sactorose.org/ipm/84rosesawflies.htm

  German: Rosensägewespe, Gebänderte Rosenblattwespe

Thanks José Luis Ruiz de la Cuesta

There are many similar species. And there are not many specialists, you can consult.
This black and red dolerus looks like a Dolerus Germanicus. But they have brown knees. 
I have read, that Dolerus bajulus and Dolerus aericeps are also similar. This saw flies flew from one grass blade to another and were therefore difficult to photograph.
You often see them in April and May

  Photos 11-4-2010 Another Dolerus spec.

A Sawfly with a striking white band and a club-shaped end of the antennas. The larvae live in the honeysuckle.
They winter as a pupae in the ground. Adults appear in April.
In the Netherlands it is quite rare.

Length 11 mm.
Europe, North-West Africa, North and Central Asia.

     Photos 25-4-2010  Photo 4-6-2010

German: Keulhornblattwespe  French: Tenthrède du chèvrefeuille                                                                                                       

A small black with red sawfly.
Length 7 mm.

Photo 3-4-2010. This is a queen. As you can see the queen more robust. The antennae of the males have 13 segments. The scapus (shaft) is the first segment. The workers have 12. 
In Holland they are also called lemonade wasps, because they can be annoying in  late summer and autumn.  Especially if you drink lemonade.
Queen Length: 16 - 19 mm, length workers 11 - 14 mm, length males 13 - 17 mm.
They look very much like the slightly larger German wasp (Vespula germanica).
The nest will be built underground  in old nests of animals, but also in hollow trees and wall cavities. 
In 2008 we had a nest between the roof and ceiling of the pantry. Until  autumn we had no problem. Only when it was cold, you did see them in the pantry. There they were walking around very slow. The year after they had disappeared. 

Native to Europe, Asia, Japan en Northern America. Introduced in New Zealand and Australia. 

German: Gemeine Wespe  French: La guêpe commune 

Characteristic: Black with yellow stripes. A narrow tip. Most males of the potter wasps have back-curved last segments of the antennae. 
There are many similar species. Ancistrocerus parietum, Ancistrocerus gazella, Ancistrocerus quadratus, Ancistrocerus nigricornis, Ancistrocerus oviventris...

The nests can be found in holes in the wood. Like beetle galleries, boreholes. In the cells of the nest are caterpillars as food for larvae. As with masonry bees, they close the cell. 

          Photos 18-4-2010

Ichneumon wasp Netelia spec.  

No Netelia testaceus, for the and of the body of this species is black. The other species are difficult to identify.

Furthermore, they can also be confused with ophion species. But the veins of  the wings are different.

Many members of this family are parasites of the sawfly.

  Photos 27-4-09

On this photo: on a leaf of a Goldenrod.

  Photo 7-6-'09

The answer of  Pierre-Nicolas from Belgium was:
A male of Pimplinae like Dolichomitus, Liotryphon, Ephialtes,...

  Pimplinae Pimpla spec. Photo 23-5-2010 An other member of the family.

About 15 mm.

Photos: 23-11-09

They are small and mobile. You must be lucky, to get a good photo. I always see them in spring. 

Photos 20-4-2008

Camille Thirion has identified this small wasp. Thanks Camille.

On forum "hymis":
Henrik Gyurkovics thinks: It could be fam. Ichneumnidae, subfam.Cryptinae, and there is a remote possibility that it is some Gelis spec.

Thanks Henrik

Wasp in the genus Gelis are wingless.

Ruby-tailed wasps have a beautiful bright metallic colour. In the Netherlands and Belgium are about 60 species. Identification of many species is not easy.
They do possess a stinging organ although there is no venom. (most species)

They have a hard exoskeleton. They need it to protect themselves, when the meet the host. For Ruby-tailed wasps lay their eggs in the nests of other wasps, bees. (cuckoo wasps) The larvae of the ruby-tailed wasps eat the bee or wasp larvae of their host.
They are variable in size.

 
German: Goldwaspe - Gemeine Goldwespe, Feuer-Goldwespe (Chrysis ignita) 

Indification by Toshko: A male of Ectemnius cavifrons (Thomson). The shape of lower surface of first flagellar segment, coloration of clypeal hairs and shape of inner mandibular edge and fore and mid tarsal segments are diagnostic features for this species.
Thanks Toshko

When I think of bees, I always think of social honey bees and beekeepers. But there are also many solitary species. They all feed on ( also the larvae) nectar and polllen. Bumble bees are close relatives of  the honey bees.

European honey bee, western honey bee (Apis mellifica)

The honey bee is a social bee, originally from South Asia. In Europe it is found in wild and it is maintained by beekeepers.
The queen leaves her nest for the mating flight. The males you see especially in summer. Furthermore, there are of course the workers.
The bees survive winter as a colony. A difference with the bumblebees.
The bee is easily recognized by their elongated radial cell near the front wingtip.

   Bees collect pollen in the pollen basket.

German: Westliche Honigbiene, Europäische Honigbiene. French: L'abeille européenne, l’avette, la mouche à miel

A solitary bee. The species are often difficult to identify from a photo.

Leaf cutting bees cut circular pieces of leaves to construct their nest. The nests are created in small holes in the ground, but also in for example hollow plant stems. The nests contain several cells. In each cell the bee with pollen and nectar the bee lays one egg.

On the photo you can see the yellow hairs on the underside of the abdomen. (a kind of hairy brush) On these hairs they carry pollen. 

May - August.

German: Mörtel- und Blattschneiderbienen  

German: Rote Mauerbiene

On these photos you can see better the black end of the abdomen. (Flower: white squill (Scilla mischtschenkoana)

A cuckoo bee. In the Netherlands, there are 43 species. I don't know the species. It looks like a wasp.

Like a cuckoo, they lay their eggs in nests of other bee species. Often of mining bees. The nomada larvae kill the larvae of the host, when they grow up.
Like other bees the nomada feeds on nectar and pollen. But it lacks a pollen-carrying scopa. (Modifications on the body of a non-parasitic bee for carrying pollen.) Parasitic bees don't need to transport pollen.

April - August.    

   Wasp bee, Nomada spec. (Nomada spec.) 18-4-2010

Lasioglossum calceatum or Lasioglossum albipes  Family Halicidae   male

These two species are very similar. The females have a sweet fragrance.

It's a social bee. The female hibernates. In spring it makes a nest in the ground. First the workers appear and then the males and females.

Lasioglossum calceatum Length females 8 - 9 mm, length males 8 - 10 mm.
Lasioglossum albipes Length females 8 - 9 mm, length males 8 - 10 mm.

April - October.

A solitary bee. Unfortunately not to identify.

Somme species make nests in the ground vertically, other species horizontally. There are also differences in size and flight among the species. There are 72 species in the Netherlands.

Tawny Mining Bee (Andrena fulva)  Family Mining Bees (Andrenidae)   Female

It looks a bit like a bumblebee with his long foxy red brown hairs. The legs are black.
You can often find them (also in our garden) on currants, gooseberries and other Ribes species. 
Solitary. The females make the nest in sandy soil. Sometimes in the garden. Small sand heaps with entrance hole in the middle. Diameter: 9 mm. Depth: 20 - 40 mm. The branched hole has oval cells. In each cell are pollen, nectar and one egg.  
Sometimes there are many nests together. But every bee has its own nest.

Length female 12-14 mm, length male 9 - 11 mm.
March - May.

German: Rotpelzige Sandbiene 

Length 9 - 10 mm.
April - June.
German: Rotschopfige Erdbiene

Andrena carantonica, female.  Other names: Andrena scotica, Andrena sabulosa.
Photo 17-4-2010 

The Andrena carantonica resembles a honeybee. Also regarding the size. Yellow brown hairs. There are not much hairs on the abdomen.. The legs are densely hairy.
They are not only on hawthorn bushes. Here is an andrena on a gooseberry bush. Hawthorn Andrena often construct the entrance to a nest together. But the females have their own separate chamber. The nests can also be found under the tiles

Length females 13, 14 mm, length males 10 - 13 mm.
Females: April - June Males: end April - Mai. 

Bumblebees

Big hairy bees of the genus Bombus. They live in colonies. Only the queen hibernates and starts a new colony next year. The nest is sometimes underground, but can also be built between clumps of grass.
The larvae feed on pollen and nectar. The pollen are collected in the pollen basket or corbicula on the hind  legs. 
The males  have long antennae. Besides the queen and males there are also workers. (Not so many as in the colonies of honey bees)

Collar and second segment of the abdomen are orange or golden yellow. Point abdomen is white.
 
Queen Length 20 to 22 mm, worker 11-17 mm length and length male 14-16 mm.

Nest in the ground. It may be more than one meters below the ground.
The large earth bumblebees are among the first bumble bees to appear in spring. Queens: late February, early March.

German: Dunkle Erdhummel  French: Bourdon terrestre

The Garden Bumblebee is rather similar to the Large Earth Bumblebee. The main difference is the band behind with yellow hairs. The band is as well on the abdomen as on the back of the thorax. Divided in two bands.  
Garden bumblebees have the longest tongue. It can forage on flowers that have deep corollas like the mint family and the legume family, pea family.

Nest on the ground or undergrounds. For example in mice nests and bird nests. About up tot 100 bumblebees.
Length queen 18-26 mm, length workers 11-16 mm, length male 13-15 mm.
Flight: March - September

Photo 14-6-09. A male

German: Gartenhummel French: Le Bourbon des jardins

The Red-tailed bumblebee is almost as large as the Large Earth Bumblebee.
It is mainly black with a  red tail. Males, workers and queen have a similar colour pattern.

In the colony are about 100 to 200 bumblebees. The nest is either underground (eg old mice nests) and overground (eg birdhouses) found.

German: Steinhummel French: Bourdon des pierres

   Photos 21-3-2010. Queen

Pale yellow collar and second abdominable segment. Black first abdominal segment and scutellum.  Black hairs often have white tips. (as on this photo)
Queen Length 19 - 22 mm, length male 13 - 16 mm.
Flight: March to October. Like the Large Earth Bumblebee it is an early bumblebee.
Nest in the ground.

German: Hellen / helle Erdhummel 

The thorax is orange brown. The abdomen is black with a orange brown dot.
On this photo the end of the abdomen is not visible. When it has a white-ended abdomen, it is the tree bumblebee (Bombus hypnorum)

Queen: Length 15 - 18 mm, length male 12 - 14 mm, length worker 9 - 15 mm.

Flight: April to October.
Nest on or in the ground. Also in bird nests.

     Photos 9-4-2010. Common Carder Bee, queen

German: Ackerhummel  French: Bourdon des champs

New garden bumblebee, tree bumblebee ( Bombus hypnorum)

The thorax is orange brown. The abdomen is black with a white dot.
Length queen 18 to 22 mm, length male 14 to 16 mm, length daily 8 to 18 mm.
Flight: April to August. (Queens February to late April, workers in April to mid-August, young queens and males in May to late August)
Nest above the ground. In many holes, in bird nests in nest boxes. 80-400 workers.

Most of Europe and parts of Eastern Asia.

   Photos 30-4-2010. Only the left picture is sharp. It was moving constantly.

German: Baumhummel  French: Bourdon des arbres

A small bumblebee.
Collar yellow. The tail is orange red. The yellow bar in the middle of the abdomen can be absent or reduced to a few hairs.
It has a short tongue.
Flying time: March to October. Not as early as the Large Earth Bumblebee.
Queen Length 15 - 17 mm, length male 11 - 13 mm.

The nest can be in the ground and above the ground. It also can be found. in mice nests, birdhouses and bird nests

German: Wiesenhummel:  

Bombus bohemicus (Probably, I am not quite sure)

Similar species are  Bombus vestalis and  Bombus norvegicus.
A yellow collar. Point abdomen is white.
A parasite of  the White-tailed bumblebee (Bombus lucorum) But also of other bumblebee species.
March - September 
Length female 14 - 20 mm, male 12 - 18 mm

   Photos 14-4-2010,  female      German: Angebundene Kuckuckshummel

Vestal cuckoo bee (Bombus vestalis)  (I am not quite sure)

A black bumblebee with a brown yellow collar. The last segments have white hairs, often with some yellow hairs.

A parasite of Bombus terresttris.
Length female 20 - 24 mm, length male 15 - 19 mm. Of course there are no workers.
March - September

German: Keusche Kuckuckshummel

     Photos 17-4-2010.  Female