Solitary Wasps – Aculeata and Kin
- Solitary wasps offer the naturalist an ideal introduction to insects in the field. Many species are common and relatively easy to find. The wasps’ “benign” nature (towards humankind) and seemingly total “dedication” to the task at hand, particularly at her nest site, allows close observation of burrow construction, prey selection, and deposition as well a variety of strategies employed by the adult female to protect her offspring. These videos offer a sampling of solitary wasp behavior as well as a look at their taxonomic relatives including social wasps (the insects most people think of when they hear the word “wasp”) such as yellow jackets, paper wasps, and hornets as well as the ancestors of solitary wasps including sawflies and horntails.
Sand Wasps A
Aphilanthops frigidus
Bembix americana
Bicyrtes quadrifasciatus
Microbembex monodonta
Sphecius speciosus
Tachytes sp.
Sand Wasps B
Cerceris fumipennis
Cerceris halone
Philanthus gibbosus
Philanthus sanbornii
Philanthus ventilabris
Thread-waisted Wasps
Ammophila procera
Chlorion aerarium
Eremnophila aureonotata
Isodontia sp.
Sphex ichneumoneus
Sphex pensylvanicus
Spider Wasps
Anoplius Blue-Black
Anoplius semicinctus
Anoplius tenebrosus
Auplopus architectus
Entypus fulvicornis
Priocnemis minorata
Other Aculeate Wasps
Dasymutilla nigripes
Eumenes fraternus
Chrysis sp.
Scolia dubia
Myzinum quinquecinctum
Social Wasps
Dolicovespula aranaria
Dolicovespula maculata
Polistes dominula
Polistes exclamans
Polistes fuscatus
Vespula flavopilosa
Vespula germanica
Kin
Urocerus albicornis
Alabagrus texanus
Itoplectis conquisitor
Megarhyssa macrurus
Ophion sp.