Well, apart from:-

1 & 3 appear to be bumblebees of some sort

2 & 4 appear to be flies

Beyond that, sorry, no can help. :-)))

I agree 2 bees and 2 flies.

Can you check your local agricultural dept.? Our universities here provide lots of info through their entomology dept.s.

Or barring that, try the nearest U.S. university ag. extension? It's still in North American, after all

If no one here can give specific ID's here is a link to the Insect Forum

P.S. Forgot to add I've had good results directly emailing photos to scientists at our ent. dept. They have the best knowledge of what lives in the area.

I think #2=Gymnosoma (Tachinidae) #4=Eristalinus (Syrphidae).

I think 3 might be either Bombus mixtus (more common)or Bombus frigidus (less common).

1 seems like it could be a leafcutter bee, Megachile sp. maybe melanophaea or gemula. Could also be Bombus bifarius.

I'm not an expert, so these are just guesses. I'm no good at flies.

carol's suggestion of emailing a local authority; around here that's somewhere like Adubon, but I don't know what the options are in Canada.

Thank you peren, I changed the forum as per your advice.

Carolb I will pass this info to her, thanks.

Thank you peren. And the creatures are great, too, in her organic garden.