Subject: What type of bee is this?
Location: Payson, AZ
September 23, 2013 9:56 pm
I found a beautiful orange and black bee on our property, in Arizona, that has black and blue iridescent wings. I took a photo of it that I am attaching.
Would Love to find out what this beautiful creature is! :O)
Thanks for your help!
Signature: Vicki
Hi Vicki,
This Scoliid Wasp is positively gorgeous. According to BugGuide: Wasps in the family Scoliidae are commonly called: “Flower Wasps, Mammoth Wasps, Scarab Hawks, [or] Scarab Hunters” and the “female digs down to the host grub, stings it, and lays an egg on the paralyzed grub” and those eggs develop into “Larvae [that] are parasitoids of ground-dwelling scarab grubs.” Thanks to BugGuide, we have identified you Scarab Hunter as Triscolia ardens.