These have been flying around my plants recently, and I just started finding them all nice and digested in reopened fly traps. Anyone know what they are? They're shiny bluish-black.
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Bluish-black Bug ID
- Thread starter TENroaches
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Looks like a type of mud dauber.
joossa
Aklys
Looks like Chalybion californicum.
Or a similar wasp. The vast majority of wasps are good to have around.
Wow, it does. I looked up the other bug in your linked bug's info ( http://bugguide.net/node/view/8607 ) and it looks just like that, too. Hard to tell the difference. Based on what the infos say, I'd assume it's the one you linked to. Thanks so much!
they eat spiders and caterpillars, depending on the species. I recently found a fallen nest full of larvae and paralyzed--but still alive--spiders for the larvaes food. nomnomnom. Very cool bugs.
That's awesome. It's amazing what you learn about things like bugs and moss, just from dabbling in the carnivorous plant hobby.
Can these things sting (humans), like the wasps we're all familiar with? They don't seem to want to, as I've treated them as family when I'm out with my plants, but I'm wondering if the can.
they probably can sting you, but i doubt you would either feel it or if it would hurt very much. No clue though. It is very awsome indeed, you start realizing how everything and everything is interconnected, and it is amazing. 
Steven Magee
ROW ROW FIGHT THE POWAH!
Be careful if you grow sarracenia, they will set up nests in the pitchers, chew holes through them, etc. I try to kill them when I see them, as they make my plants look bad :/. Unfortunately they are much harder to kill than caterpillars + mealybugs.