Great black digger wasps (Sphex pensylvanicus) have a deep, inky black bodies and iridescent blue wings. Despite the much-maligned reputation of wasps to be aggressive, these solitary wasps are rather docile and will only sting when threatened.
Adults will feed on nectar. Adult females will paralyze and carry their prey back to the nest for their brood, where they will eat the paralyzed prey while it is still alive. Their prey consists of many insects in the order Orthoptera (crickets, katydids, and grasshoppers).
Size
Large: ~1 inch (20–30 mm)
Active periods
June–October, peak in August
Food Source
Katydids and plant nectar. Interestingly, when there are large nest aggregations of these wasps, house sparrows, American robins, and gray catbirds have been known to burgle as much as one-third of the wasps’ hard-hunted prey!
Overwintering
As their name suggests, Great Black Digger Wasps are not only darkly colored but prolific diggers. They tend to prefer well-drained, sandy, or soft soils. As in many solitary wasps, they overwinter as prepupae.
