Instead, the female great black wasp digs a multi-chambered tunnel in soft soil to make a nursery for her offspring. The stings, however, do not make the skin swell as many other stings do. This is one serious wasp. Labor Day weekend, North Central Pennsylvania, 2011. Hi there bug guys.

A Great Black Wasp in sedum @ Greenwood Nursery in Marshall, MN. 6 Comments. Great Black Wasp (Sphex pensylvanicus) at Greenwood Nursery in Marshall, MN. The great black wasp, Sphex pensylvanicus. siouxpilot : About Published on Aug 28, 2013.

The Sphex Pensylvanicus is a large wasp. The Great Black Wasp (GBW) is decorated at one end by heavy-duty mandibles that allow her to hang onto her prey and, toward the other end, by a narrow constriction/stalk at the top of a stinger-tipped abdomen.

When a great black wasp stings you, it's screaming time. It is very large and black in color and the females are larger than the males. Sep 16, 2010 at 10:35 AM . Also known as the great black wasp, this insect can be found in most of North America and northern Mexico and it can get up to one and a half inches in length.

Great Black Wasp and the Spider river wind : About Uploaded on Sep 6, 2011.

Great Black Wasp.

It belongs to the family Sphecidae, the thread-waisted wasps, and if you look carefully at the photo, you can see the very thin connection (petiole) between thorax and abdomen. The male wasps are significantly smaller than females.

According to John Ascher of BugGuide.net, only the wings are blue. At almost 1 ½” long (males are smaller), she gets your full attention when she’s browsing a nearby flower top. It is generally found in North America and it feeds off of living insects. The females reach about 1-1.5 inches long, slightly larger than the males. It was quite a sight. Dear Deborah, Your Great Black Wasp images are awesome.
T his beautiful creature photographed by Andrew Hogg is not actually a “blue wasp” but a great black wasp, Sphex pensylvanicus.

The scientific name for the great black wasp is Sphex Pensylvanicus. By Kathy Van Mullekom.

That is exciting to learn you may have a stable population of this incredible predator in your vicinity.

Blue sand digging wasp? I am from Ontario, Canada and was out in my driveway yesterday and noticed this blue waspy looking bug digging in a pile of sand. It has smoky wings and its sting is very painful. The Great Black Wasp is a solitary wasp, consequently, it does not build "community" nests similar to other wasp species and does not swarm. She hunts for large insects, usually katydids; stings them to paralyze but not kill; and takes them into the tunnel nest.

Great black wasps are solitary wasps that do not live in colonies like the familiar yellow jacket wasp.