Great Black Wasp - (Sphex pensylvanicus)

The iridescent Great Black Wasp pollinates flowers while feeding itself, and removes plant pests while feeding its young making it a great friend to gardens and fields.

Staff Writer (6/14/2017): Steely blue-black and large, the Great Black Wasp is a nectar and pollen eater. It can be seen visiting flowers in the hottest parts of the summer and early fall and help pollinate plants. Every adult, however, was raised on a diet of Katydids, Grasshoppers or Crickets. (Katydids are relatives of grasshoppers and crickets.)

Great Black Wasps are part of the Digger Wasp family, creating burrows in the soil. Adult female wasps hunt for insects after laying fertilized eggs in this underground nest. Each egg laid in a tunnel and a Katydid or Cricket is placed next to it. Once the egg hatches, the emerging larva has an immediate food source and will devour the insect as it grows and develops. Their juvenile diet helps keep the katydid, cricket and grasshopper populations under control.

Adult Great Black Wasps may look mean, but they are disinterested in humans and are not bothersome, though they can sting if mishandled or threatened.

©2005-2017 www.InsectIdentification.org. All Rights Reserved. No Reproduction Permitted. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from www.InsectIdentification.org is strictly prohibited. Material presented throughout this website is for entertainment value and should not to be construed as usable for scientific research or medical advice (insect bites, etc...). Please consult licensed, degreed professionals for such information. Email corrections / Comments to InsectIdentification at Gmail dot com.

Details of the:
Great Black Wasp

Category: Bee, Ant, Wasp and Similar
Common name: Great Black Wasp
Scientific Name: Sphex pensylvanicus
Other Names: Katydid Hunter, Steel-blue Cricket Hunter

Taxonomy:

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Arthropoda

Class: Insecta

Order: Hymenoptera

Family: Sphecidae

Genus: Sphex

Species: pensylvanicus

Size (Adult, Length): 20mm to 35mm (0.79in to 1.38in)

Identifying Colors: black, blue

Additional Descriptors: large, blue, steel, shiny, flying, stinging, waist

North American Reach (Though Not Limited To*): Alabama; Alaska; Arizona; Arkansas; California; Colorado; Connecticut; Delaware; Florida; Georgia; Hawaii; Idaho; Illinois; Indiana; Iowa; Kansas; Kentucky; Louisiana; Maine; Maryland; Massachusetts; Michigan; Minnesota; Mississippi; Missouri; Montana; Nebraska; Nevada; New Hampshire; New Jersey; New Mexico; New York; North Carolina; North Dakota; Ohio; Oklahoma; Pennsylvania; Rhode Island; South Carolina; South Dakota; Tennessee; Texas; Utah; Vermont; Virginia; West Virginia; Wisconsin; Wyoming; Ontario; Quebec; Mexico

* Keep in mind that an insect's reach is not limited by lines on a map and therefore may appear in areas/regions/states beyond those listed above.

BUGFINDER: What Kind of Bug is This...

BUGFINDER allows for a quick search of the Insect Identification database by selecting primary color, secondary color, number of legs and the territory / state in question. If only one color is present on your insect, select it again as its SECONDARY color. Remember that the more details you can offer, the better your chances of finding a match. As a rule of thumb, six legs are typical for most insects whereas spiders generally have eight legs.

Primary Color:

Secondary Color:

Number of Legs:

State / Province:

General Category: