Blue Winged Digger Wasp – digging
Location: Eastern edge of the Cumberland Plateau, rural Tennessee
July 5, 2011 11:05 am
Hello Daniel.
I must admit, I was concerned when I saw a hole in my freshly replanted bean bed, and saw what looked like a wasp going into it, but after reading your earlier postings on the Blue Winged wasp, and that she was probably taking care of Japanese beetles, I was glad. She’s welcome here! She busily removed and scattered soil fanned out from the hole for several minutes, but was difficult to get to stop for sharper photos! A short while later, the hole was filled and invisible.
Thanks again for your informative work!
Bob Kieffer
Signature: Bob Kieffer
Hi Bob,
We postponed posting your submission because we were trying to identify your digging Wasp, which should not be confused with a Digger Wasp. In our opinion, this is a Thread Waisted Wasp in the family Sphecidae. We believe this may be Palmodes dimidiatus, a species with no common name, but which is shown on BugGuide preying upon different Shield-Back Katydids. Here is the BugGuide information page.