Florida is home to a variety of bees.
The hot and humid environment of Central Florida is an ideal location for many insect species. Warm temperatures allow for a longer breeder season. Florida has lots of plant life and vegetation, allowing many insects to feed on nectar and other plant products year round. Though the vast quantities of insects living in Florida can make it difficult to identify each individual, most flying insects can be narrowed down to an insect order and sometimes narrowed down to a few species.
Instructions
1. Hornets often have striking patterns on their abdomen.
Look for a visible stinger. Flying insects with visible stingers are likely wasps. Hornets, which are actually a kind of wasp, are common in Florida and can be identified by their large bodies. These wasps are frequently striped with bright colors like red and yellow. Paper wasps look similar to hornets but have reddish-brown wings and elongated, slender bodies. Almost all species of wasps are highly social, which means they tend to swarm and attack when under threat. Killing a wasp or hornet can result in a nasty attack by other members of the hive. Wasps emit a distress pheromone when injured or killed that alerts other wasps to attack.
2. House flies, like most other flies, have large eyes.
Check the insect's eyes. Flying insects with large, visible eyes may be flies. Most flies are black or dark green. Horse flies are especially common in Florida and can be identified based on their reflective, greenish eyes and large, rounded bodies. They inflict painful bites. Common house flies are small, black flies with transparent wings. They make a loud buzzing sound and frequently swarm around food.
3. Observe the texture of the insect's body. Honeybees frequently have fuzzy bodies that are brown, black, yellow or some combination of the three. Their stingers can normally only be seen up close. These highly social insects live in colonies and help to pollinate flowers. Though a sting from a honeybee is painful, most species of honeybees are not aggressive. Bees with shiny, black, rounded bodies living near wood structures may be carpenter bees, which drill holes in wood.
4. Mosquito bites are very itchy.
Listen for a buzzing sound. Small buzzing insects in Florida are very likely mosquitoes. Mosquitoes lay eggs in standing water and thrive in humid climates. They drink blood from their victims by using a needle-like mouth-part to dig into flesh. Though mosquito bites are generally harmless, they can cause allergic reactions and infections. Further, mosquitoes carry West Nile Virus, and several cases of the disease have been reported by the Centers for Disease Control.
5. Dragonflies eat many insect pests.
Look at the animal's wings. Large, colorful wings may indicate a dragonfly, moth or butterfly. Butterfly and moth wings tend to be more opaque than dragonfly wings. These insects feed primarily on nectar and vegetation. Most moths are nocturnal, while butterflies are active primarily during the day. Dragonflies are carnivorous insects that eat smaller insects, including mosquitoes. Their wings are always held perpendicular to their bodies, and their bodies tend to be both thicker and longer than butterfly and moth wings.
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