Male Five-banded Tiphiid Wasp nectaring on Slender Mountain Mint (7/11/09).
Species description (via Kansas State University): This is a slender, shining black wasp, with yellow crossbands, which measures 3/4 inch (19 mm) in length. Males are more slender than the females and have an upturned black hook at the end of the abdomen. There are 5 yellow bands on the abdomen of the female (the second is broken in the middle) and 6 narrow, more regular ones in the
male. Both head and thorax are marked with yellow. Legs of the males are strongly yellow, but they are reddish in females. Wings are brown.Life cycle (via BugGuide): Larvae are parasitoids of white grubs (scarab larvae), especially May Beetles, Phyllophaga. Female lays one egg per grub in soil. Larvae hatches, penetrates host, first feeding on non-essential tissues, later feeding on essential organs and killng host. Pupae overwinter in soil and adults emerge in early summer, with one generation per year. Adults feed on nectar.
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4 comments:
I don't think I have seen this skinny wasp here. I will be on the lookout for it now. Great shots Marvin.
talk about 'wasp waisted' :)
Probably not the same evil creature, but a couple years ago I got stung by a (expletive deleted) little wasp like that -- bugged the hell out of me for a full two weeks...
Oh my but you sure are finding some good ones this summer. Most interesting info on it too Marvin. Thanks for sharing.
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