[cdbyr]

A question for any bee experts: there have been a few times I’ve been eating a sandwich or sushi in a nearby park in NY, and a bee has flown over, found the meat in whatever I’m eating, spent some time cutting a piece off, and flown off with it. Would anyone know what sort of bee this could have been, or any other info on what was going on?

[greenbit]

Anecdotal - I've seen yellow jackets take an interest in deli meat on multiple occasions. Apparently it has something to do with the time of year. I want to say it's springtime when they crave the protein, but, not sure.

[lostlogin]

Mid summer they need protein.

It’s a great way to kill them and not bees, and the basis of the poison Vespex.

https://merchento.com/vespex.html

[sandworm101]

A wasp?

[pxmpxm]

People in the US seem to use "bee" for anything ranging from paper wasps to bumble bees and hornets.

[Firmwarrior]

Usually people in the US are pretty good about distinguishing between sinister wasps and friendly honeybees

In Japan they have the same casual name, though, which I find almost as disturbing as the occasional thumb-sized giant wasps in Tokyo

[cdbyr]

I’m not an expert, but it was about the size + hairiness that I associate with bees.

[michaelcampbell]

Where I'm from (Atlanta), the ground-dwelling type eat meat.