Subject: What is this blue thin but large looking beetle
Geographic location of the bug: Santa Clarita CA
Date: 09/03/2018
Time: 12:30 AM EDT
Your letter to the bugman: Can you identify? About 3+ inches long and on the “slender” vs. full beetle shape
How you want your letter signed: Kat
Dear Kat,
This is not a Beetle. It is a Steel Blue Cricket Hunter, Chlorion aerarium, a Wasp in the family Sphecidae. According to BugGuide: “Although generally not closely associated with humans, they are found wherever their hosts (Gryllus crickets) are found, which could include close proximity to homes.” We believe “3+ inches long” is an exaggeration, as BugGuide states: “~25 mm.”