I never got a pic. Last August we were camped on the island on Shell Lake. There were these huge bee-like insects, mainly black with a little white on their abdomen. They were about an inch or so long and very hefty. The coolest part is that there was one in our tent and we watched it catching and eating mosquitoes right out of the air. Anyone know what this wonderful critter was?

That was a bald faced hornet.

One of the meanest critters to ever take to the air. Their stings hurt like you wouldn't believe.

jerryr: "That was a bald faced hornet.


One of the meanest critters to ever take to the air. Their stings hurt like you wouldn't believe."

Nope. Not a bald faced. I’m very familiar with those vicious buggers! This was much more hefty and kind nd of hairy. Like a bumble bee, but not. I was thinking robber fly. But I can’t find an image of one of those that quite matches what I saw. Most robber flies are pretty slender. But there are a couple fatter ones.

Glad to hear it wasn't a bald face!

I've been stung way too many time by them! To say it hurts is an understatement.
It doesn't take much to provoke them either. ie nothing!!!

I've seen them too. Big, black, hairy fly/been cross with a white parch on abdomen.

It was probably a robber fly. They have a bit of a range of body types between species - from what kind of resemble wasps, dragonflies, or bees (which I'm guessing is what you saw).

The Laphria genus are referred to as "bee-like robber flies".

You might be able to find the exact species looking through pictures on the bug guide website.

MatteMatt: "It was probably a robber fly. They have a bit of a range of body types between species - from what kind of resemble wasps, dragonflies, or bees (which I'm guessing is what you saw).


The Laphria genus are referred to as "bee-like robber flies".


You might be able to find the exact species looking through pictures on the bug guide website."

I just finished a bit of research on this and guess what I came up with. A robber fly!

So I looked at tons of different robber flies today. I’m pretty certain that’s what it was. Though I haven’t seen one that looks exactly like what I saw. Hopefully I’ll see more this year and can get a pic. It’s a wondeful critter to have around. An expert mosquito catcher. He was in our tent and had them cleaned out in no time.