Subject: Hey Bugman
Geographic location of the bug: Arizona
Date: 08/11/2018
Time: 09:22 AM EDT
Your letter to the bugman: I’m filming in southern Arizona and came across this wasp (?) pouncing on a cricket. It had the most vibrant, cobalt blue coloring, almost metallic in its sheen. It was about 1.5” in length.
So tell me: what’s that bug?!
Sincerely,
How you want your letter signed: Tomás Arceo
Dear Tomás,
You had nearly every word in this predator’s name in your letter. This is a Steel Blue Cricket Hunter, Chlorion aerarium, and it is a marvelous addition to our Food Chain tag. According to BugGuide: “Females mass-provision several serial cells, each containing from 2 to 9 nymphs or adults of Gryllus pennsylvanicus. Prey are transported on the ground, venter-up, with the wasp’s mandibles grasping the antennae of the cricket.”
Please do us a favor in the future and submit your images using our standard form that you can access by clicking the Ask WTB? link on our site, though we in no way want to discourage you from submitting such excellent images via normal email channels. Using our form makes it easier for us to create our postings in a uniform manner.
We have tons of steel blue cricket hunters in southern Arizona. The hotter it is outside the more you see them flying. They come to our outdoor misting system to sip water. I watched one capture a cricket then the wasp pulls each cricket s rear legs off then it grapple s hold of the cricket and slowly rises with her “cargo” I could not tell by watching if she stings her prey. They appear to bury or tuck the crickets in hiding spots.