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Wasps and HornetsDon’t think its a sawfly!
I love your site! I’m always taking pictures of bugs in my garden in Seattle, Washington. But I was really confused by the little "wings" by his head! Can you help identify? Thank-you
Beth
Hi Beth,
We searched on BugGuide, thinking this looked like a Square Headed Wasp. We found a photo of a male Crabro latipes that matches along with Eric Eaton’s explanation: “This is, believe it or not, a male sphecid wasp in the genus Crabro, probably C. latipes. His front tibia are greatly expanded into those shields so easily visible here. He covers the female’s eyes with those things during mating. The plates don’t blind her, but apparently filter light in such a way that she recognizes this is a male of her own species. How weird is that? “
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