Unknown Flying Wasp
Location: Eastern Ontario
July 22, 2011 9:12 pm
Several of these insects are burrowing holes in the sand in our backyard. We seen three of these bugs carrying Angular-Winged Katydid back to their burrows. I killed two of the bugs and took some photos of them. What are they?
Signature: Terry
Unnecessary Carnage: Great Golden Digger Wasps
Hi Terry,
Great Golden Digger Wasps, like the two dead individuals in your photograph, are a beneficial species that pollinates plants as adults, and the larvae feed on Katydids which are provided by a solitary female who digs a burrow that she provisions with paralyzed Katydids to feed her brood. Great Golden Digger Wasps are not an aggressive species. While we concede that the possibility exists that they might sting someone, we have never received a report that anyone has been stung by a Great Golden Digger Wasp. In our opinion, these magnificent wasps have been killed needlessly, so we are tagging this posting as Unnecessary Carnage. Your letter only indicated that the Great Golden Digger Wasps were digging and capturing prey. You never indicated if they threatened you or your family.
help, is this a roach???
Location: western pennsylvania
July 21, 2011 11:26 pm
Please let me know what kind of bug this is. It was in my bedroom. Ignore the light black spot between the the first two white dots(closest to the head) as my husband burned it. (Cruel I know)
I live in western Pennsylvania
Signature: Jamie
Ivory Marked Beetle
Hi Jamie,
This is an Ivory Marked Beetle, one of the Longhorned Borer Beetles. It will not infest your home, though there are reports of adults emerging after many years from furniture that was built from wood that contained boring larvae. According to BugGuide: “Notorious for emerging from furniture after as many as 10-40 yrs (1)(4) Delayed emergence of E. quadrigeminata was discovered from a birch bookcase 40 years old.” We feel that burning a living creature constitutes Unnecessary Carnage, however, roasted insects, which are high in protein, are consumed in many cultures. Since this Ivory Marked Beetle was photographed on a spoon, are you able to provide us with any information on how it tasted?
4
Restroom violayor
Location: North fort worth, texas
July 19, 2011 10:42 am
I have a policy of ignore and be ignored with bugs in my home. There’s just an unwritten rule of personal space, however, in the restroom that space it’s expanded exponentially to a no fly zone of assured death. Not once, not twice, but thrice times I swatted this one away with non lethal intent. At first I thought it was a spider the way it crawled out from under the scale. Then I noticed it’s cricket like hind legs and it flew, directly at me, multiple times. Also it appeara to have an antlike abdomen. Hopefully this specimen will serve as an example to others in the future. PS: He seems to have found a hair to cling to in death… How quaint.
Signature: Relatively benign bug overlord
Ensign Wasp Carnage
Dear Relatively benign bug overlord,
While we understand your desire for personal space in the bathroom, we hope your “no fly zone” policy can be moderated once you learn what you have killed. This is a harmless Ensign Wasp that is actually a beneficial parasite. Ensign Wasps parasitize the oothica or egg cases of Cockroaches. The larval wasp feeds on the developing eggs and then pupates in the empty oothica, ensuring that the future generation of Cockroaches in your home will be reduced. This also helps the environment by reducing the need to spray toxic chemical pesticides around the home.
9
Large Predatory Wasp
Location: Waterford, CT
July 16, 2011 2:44 pm
Hello,
Every year without fail a few large wasps make burrows around our yard and attack anyone who dares walk past. We were under the impression they were cicada killers, so we left them alone up until now. This one burrowed right by the door, and went after me, so we have to kill it to make sure it didn’t go after our 1 year old daughter. To our surprise, it is not a cicada killer, but it is scary. What is it?
Signature: Therese
Great Golden Digger Wasp Carnage
Dear Therese,
This poor dead creature is a Great Golden Digger Wasp. They prey upon Katydids, which they sting and paralyze. Then the Katydid is dragged to a burrow and buried after an egg is laid upon it. Adult Great Golden Digger Wasps are pollinators. They are a beneficial species and it is our opinion that they should not be killed because of the fear of a potential sting. It is also our opinion that if your one year old daughter managed to let herself out of the door, there are far greater dangers awaiting her in the world than a solitary wasp that is trying to provide for her own brood. Solitary Wasps do not tend to be aggressive, and the chances of being stung by one are not very great.
3
Failing to educate
July 17, 2011 6:26 am
I was just reading your response to Evan McIntosh regarding eradication of great black wasps. You wrote, “…it has always been our mission to educate the public with regards to insects, spiders and other creatures that might appear to be frightening, but are actually quite benign or even beneficial. The Great Black Wasp is one of those insects.” You were quick to judge Evan by classifying his post under “Unnecessary Carnage” and claim to have education as your primary mission, yet do not provide one useful piece of info in your response. Did you think to describe WHY the great black wasp is beneficial? Next time, try educating first, and judging second. For me, I’m exterminating these wasps because my 3 yr old is afraid to leave the front door, where they “patrol” constantly, and my wife doesn’t like them getting into our home through the basement. I’d rather study bees and wasps with him on my terms, not theirs. I’d be happy to send a nice photo if you want more for your ”
Unnecessary Carnage” file.
Signature: Paul Bradley
Dear Paul,
From our perspective, providing information like “According to BugGuide, the female Great Black Wasps: ‘Provision nests (in burrow in soft earth) with Katydids or grasshoppters [sic]. (Univ. Florida lists: Tettigoniidae in genera Microcentrum and Scudderia.) Usually about three are placed in a nest‘” would be considered educating the public regarding the importance the Great Black Wasp fulfills in the food chain. Without a predator to keep other species in check [Read about the Ensign Wasp that parasitizes the oothica of Cockroaches], there might be a population explosion of a single species that just might throw the entire ecosystem out of whack. Thank you for offering, but you don’t need to send us any more photos of dead insects.
Educational Entry:
The Great Black Wasp, Sphex pensylvanicus, is a Thread Waisted Wasp that is also known as the Katydid Hunter according to BugGuide.
Here is a photo by Sarah from Ontario, Canada and also from our archives on July 30th, 2008.
Katydid Hunter
2
What is this pest???
Location: Houston, Texas
July 12, 2011 8:46 PM
I found these two pests flying around my home yesterday and tonight July 11, 2011. I recently moved into my new home and I now have a new pest to deal with. This bug has hind legs similar to a grasshopper; wings like a fly; a bulb bottom like a wasp stinger; blue eyes; and is extremely hard to kill! I placed the first one in this baggy and it lived for an entire day. The second bug is still alive after I smashed it with a fly swatter and its been inside a closed bag for ten hours. What is this scary looking mutant?
Lola @ Houston, Tx.
Teachers Make All Other Professions Possible!
Ensign Wasp Carnage
Dear Lola,
We find your letter most troubling and we hope we can use our response to educate you. Our first challenge to you is to question why you automatically assumed that these Ensign Wasps are pests? How do you define a pest? We propose this to you because Ensign Wasps are harmless creatures that cannot sting humans. Ensign Wasps parasitize the oothicae or egg cases of Cockroaches. The wasp larva consumes the cockroach eggs before pupating within the now empty oothica, helping to naturally control the population of cockroaches. Without a natural means of control, Cockroaches will multiply and that might necessitate frequent visits from the exterminator which costs money and introduces poisonous pesticides to the home. If there are Ensign Wasps in your home, that is probably an indication that a food supply is nearby. We noticed your tagline that “Teachers Make All Other Professions Possible!” and we applaud you for using the internet to identify the creatures you have encountered in your home, but we wish that you had decided to educate yourself about them first before swatting and suffocating these beneficial creatures. Not everything you encounter in your new home is a pest.
First and foremost, thank you very kindly for your quick response to my inquiry. I am happy to finally put an identity to this new insect I have never before encountered.
Now, as far as my naming this wasp a “pest”, I find it completely fitting and I can briefly explain why (as you ask for my definition). My four year old son became fearful of these wasps as they seem to purposely fly near our faces and around us and are not just spending time on a wall or in and out an open door or window.
Yes, as my tag mentions, I am a teacher and find it interesting that you mention it as some sort of way to belittle my wanting to rid this home of an insect I am unfamiliar with. Though I do have great scientific interests, I find my son’s peace much more priority and anything disturbing him that I encounter will become secondary. You mention I should have “educated” myself beforehand and I ask you, how else would I have been able to capture the photos, get a closer look, and educate myself had I not swatted these FAST flying wasps and placed it in a bag?
Truly you may want to consider proofreading your outgoing mail before hitting send and turning a newly interested reader to your site into someone who finds this more personally based than that of sharing knowledge.
Thanks again as I now have learned more than the name of this new insect.
Next time someone encounters your site and is genuinely seeking assistance in identifying an insect they’ve never before encountered don’t make it personal. It takes away from your own credibility, as well as your site.
Thanks for this one time exchange.
Teachers Make All Other Professions Possible!
18
Large Wasp!
Location: New Orleans, LA
July 10, 2011 7:06 pm
I found this on my back porch, it is the second one I have found and am curious what it is and if I need to start looking for a nest of some sort? This is the largest wasp I have ever seen (if it is a wasp?)
Signature: –Christopher
with a little more digging I found out what type it was online. Found (and killed) in New Orleans, Louisiana. Apparently they’re a local bug, but it’s only the 2nd one I’ve ever seen in 30+ years.
Thought you’d be interested to know if you didn’t know already! Cicada Killer, Sphecius speciosus
Cicada Killer
Hi Christoper,
This is a Cicada Killer and it is a Sand Wasp in the tribe Bembicini. Whenever we try to lobby in support of Cicada Killers, we get some heat. Cicada Killers are solitary wasps and a female will dig a burrow that she provisions with paralyzed Cicadas that become the food for her developing brood of larvae, so you would not be looking for a traditional Wasp’s Nest. When there is sandy soil that Cicada Killers find attractive for nesting, a colony may develop, but they are not social wasps like hornets. We receive several letters each year from people who have unwanted colonies of Cicada Killers, complaining that the Cicada Killers are aggressive. Males defend territory and will dive bomb anything that enters the territory, but males lack stingers. Larger females do not tend to be aggressive, but they possess stingers and they might sting. We have not received any authenticated reports of anyone actually being stung by a Cicada Killer, though we would not rule out that possibility.
Unidentified beetle
Location: West-central New Mexico, 7100’ elevation, pinyon/juniper forest
July 8, 2011 11:03 am
My husband says it’s a cockroach, I say, no. What say you?
Signature: Mary
Root Borer
Hi Mary,
We hope he is taking you for a nice romantic dinner for winning the bet. This is NOT a cockroach. This is a Root Borer in the genus Prionus, and a very likely candidate is Prionus heroicus. It looks like this picture on BuGGuide and though BugGuide has no reports from New Mexico (we would urge you to submit yours) it is found in neighboring Arizona and Utah. Your elevation might be a key factor in identifying the species. We like this comment: “Male individuals of Prionus (Homaesthesis) rarely get this large – the subgenus is distinguished from Prionus (s. str.) by the opaque, non-striolate poriferous areas on the antennae, smaller size (usually less than 30 mm), and less strongly expanded pronotal margins. Prionus californicus is typically more reddish – the darker coloration of this specimens makes me think it might be Prionus heroicus. There is no such name as Prionus derobrachus. Derobrachus hovorei is the new name for the species formerly known as Derobrachus geminatus. The species formerly called Derobrachus forreri is the true Derobrachus geminatus.
… Ted C. MacRae, 29 August, 2007 – 11:50am” from BugGuide. We wondered if this might be P. californicus, but the part of the dark coloration distinguishing the BugGuide photo seems to apply to your specimen, also a male. An eastern relative, the Broad Necked Root Borer, is our featured Bug of the Month and beetles in this subfamily, Prioninae, have been most plentiful this year. We would not like to aggravate a male Prionid as they have strong jaws and we suspect some species may be able to draw blood in a human.
P.S. It looks smashed, so we are tagging this Unnecessary Carnage.
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