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Thread Waisted WaspsWasp? Cicada Killer? Spider Wasp?
Location: Cleveland, Ohio
July 23, 2010 4:40 pm
This is burrowing in my Northern Ohio garden. I need to know if it’s friendly and helpful to my garden or whether or not I need to get rid of it. Please help me identify.
Thank you.
Signature:
JJM
Great Golden Digger Wasp
Dear JJM,
How fortunate you are to have a Great Golden Digger Was, Sphex ichneumoneus, nesting in your garden. The Great Golden Digger Wasp is beneficial for the garden for at least two reasons. First, adults are excellent pollinating insects and they are not aggressive towards humans. Secondly, the female wasp provisions her nest with plant eating insects in the order Orthoptera. According to BugGuide: “Female digs burrow almost vertically. Cells are dug radiating out from central tunnel. Larvae are provisioned with crickets, camel crickets, katydids (long-horned grasshoppers). One paralyzed prey is placed in each cell, and one egg is laid on it. One generation per year.“ The Great Golden Digger Wasp is found throughout the continental United States from coast to coast. The Great Golden Digger Wasp in our personal favorite wasp.
Burrow of a Great Golden Digger Wasp
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