Weevil Wasp

Weevil Wasps are solitary hunters that prey on Weevils, using them as a food source for their own offspring.

Members of the genus Cerceris are hunters and gatherers of weevils and other beetles. Female wasps dig nests in the ground along roads or in areas with loose sand and soil like baseball fields, parks, and beaches. They compact the material and create cells where they lay a fertilized egg. They fly off, in search of future food for their larvae.

Female Weevil Wasps bite their prey and paralyze them. The immobile weevil or beetle is then brought back to the nest and stuffed inside a cell where it remains alive, but paralyzed. A hatching wasp larva immediately begins feeding on the living, paralyzed weevil or beetle. Once the wasp larva has grown, it will pupate into its adult form and leave the nest and the now dead, devoured caterpillar.

Taxonomic Hierarchy

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Arthropoda

Class: Insecta

Order: Hymenoptera

Family: Crabronidae

Genus: Cerceris

Species: spp.

Identifying Information

Scientific Name: Cerceris spp.

Category: Bee, Ant, Wasp and Similar

Size (Adult; Length): 9mm to 13mm (0.35in to 0.51in)

Colors: black, yellow

Descriptors: bands, stripes, flying, stinging, hornet, bulging segments

Territorial Map

Alaska

Hawaii

Prince Edward Is.

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Canadian territory of Newfoundland and Labrador graphic

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Territorial Reach (A-to-Z)

Newfoundland and Labrador

Note: An insect's reach is not limited by lines drawn on a map and therefore species may appear in areas, regions and/or states beyond those listed above as they are driven by environmental factors (such as climate change), available food supplies and mating patterns. Grayed-out selections indicate that the subject in question has not been reported in that particular territory. U.S. states and Canadian provinces / territories are clickable to their respective bug listings.

Ant, Bee, and Wasp Anatomy

Graphic showing basic anatomy of both a bee and an ant insect

Antennae: Ants and Bees both have a pair of antennae on the head that senses their surroundings.

Head: The head contains the insect's compound eyes, antennae, and mandibles.

Thorax: Contains various vital parts such as the aorta and nervous system.

Abdomen: Contains various organs including the heart, gut, venom glands, and anus.

Legs: Ants and Bees have three pairs of legs attached to the thorax (center-body section).

NOTE: Ants, Bees and Wasps are part of the Hymenoptera order because they share many similarities.

Weevil Wasp (Cerceris spp.)

Weevil Wasps are solitary hunters that prey on Weevils, using them as a food source for their own offspring.