August 26, 2026
Out, roaming with no thoughts of wasps, when this Gold-marked Thread-waisted Wasp caught my attention. Sitting on a leaf, looking all of its .8 inch length.
They’re found in North and South America. As adults they drink nectar from flowers including, Yellow Ironweed (Verbena alternifolia), Mountain Mint (Pycnanthemum), Goldenrod (Solidago), Culver’s Root (Veronicastrum virginicum), and others such as Zinnia (Zinnia).
The female wasp burrows a nest in the ground, and then hunts for a caterpillar of an Owlet Moth (Noctuidae), Prominent Moth (Notodontidae) (preferred), Sphinx Moth (Sphingidae), or Skipper (Hesperidae), stinging it to paralyze it. Then she drags the caterpillar to the nest and lays one egg with it, refills the nest excavation and hides the location by tamping down the ground around it and carefully staging the area with plant debris and small pebbles.
A very clever creature.
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