Hi friends,
I am new to keeping and was wondering if any one could help me identify these bee-like things. I have seen them congregating near my hive on a few separate occasions over the last several weeks, always in the afternoon between 3-5. They are usually milling about underneath the hive or on the ground outside the front to it.
They are larger than my honeybees, have drone-like eyes, and somewhat shiny and pointy abdomens with different coloring. I have observed them for a total of probably 60 minutes and have never seen them interact with my honeybees.
I had initially thought they were my drones, but was able to confirm during my inspections that they are not. I did some research on bees local to my area (North County San Diego), but could not find any thing that seemed to match.
Could they be a variety of carpenter bee or wasp? Are they trying to rob my hive?
Thank you in advance!