within integrated pest management theories ...l.. it is required .. before taking action.. to identify some harm that the offending bug is creating..

besides pissing you off because they are so lethargic.. lazy... can you associate any significant damage on the plant ...

ken

I don't know your local critters but in general bees and wasps are beneficial to gardens. Naturally you don't want a nest of a social bee or wasp where you walk a lot, but they are nice to have elsewhere.

Can you get better photos? I do understand not wanting to poke them, but even if no one recognizes it outright, more photos will at least help narrow it down to wasp vs bee vs sawfly vs something trying to look scary. :P

When you flicked them off the plant, did they fly away? Wasps would tend to buzz around angrily for a short time, flies would just depart.

The two bars on the thorax in combination with the yellow antennae are distinctive, perhaps you can locate an image online for Israeli insects.

I am going to guess a scoliid wasp (dielis spp.?). If yes, They are parasitic wasps (not sure if the govt of israel has a program to use them for bio control) so suggest to leave them alone.

I was looking at the scoliids, that is a reasonable guess; couldn't find anything with the double bar.

Yes, Stephanie sent me looking there as well. I saw one or two colpas with a similar double bar but the rest of their bodies were wrong.

tj

Thank you all!

I looked at local wasp photos. None fits my lethargic visitors.

I can't take more photos because they're gone.

When I flicked them off the plant, they didn't buzz angrily around, but flew away. Might they be flies? Logician LLC- that was a very logical question :)

There are wasp mimics in the fly family.

However, the double thoracic bar in some of the scoliid colpa genus pictures online are intriguing.

They were back this morning. All three of them nestling in the same plant. One of them woke up and spread its wings, so I took some pictures. In reality the antennae are black, not yellowish. The photo doesn't accurately render the colours.

Then the antennae may have a structural surface that reflects light in an odd way.

In the second image above, I can see two pairs of (overlapped) wings. This would put the insect in the bee and wasp family (Hymenoptera) and not in the fly family (Diptera, one pair of wings).

I was watering my shrubs in the late-late afternoon today when a couple of those creatures came back, and this time the antennae looked reddish brown. Fascinating how the colour changes with the intensity and angle of light.

I guess what I should do for definitive ID is kill one and take better photos, but I just can't bring myself to do this.

If they are lethargic, you should be able to pop one into a jar. Refrigerate it a while, release it outside and take a photo before it warms up.

Or stick a pin in it. Teehee!

There are plenty of markings to go by with what you show. Just a matter of finding the things. ;-)

tj

That tiny pedicel rules out kinship with flies.

My Lord I had no idea people refrigerated live bugs. Sticking a pin sounds so much better. Fori, I'm giggling as I'm typing.

tsugajunkie, you are a ray of hope!

Thank you lovely lovely people!