Dig this digger!

Someone brought us this wasp in a plastic cup.

Its hard to tell from the picture but the wasp is almost 2 inches long. This is a digger wasp. I can't say for sure what species it is, but it might be the great golden digger wasp (Sphex Ichneumonius). Digger wasps are in a group of solitary wasps call Sphecids (Family: Sphecidae). When most people think of wasps they are thinking of social wasps in the family Vespidae.


One easy way to tell a vespid from a sphecid is the way that they hold their wings over their backs when they're not flying.

For example, this next picture (right) shows a vespid wasp that just landed on a piece of grass.  As you can see its wings are folded lengthwise and held out to the side at an angle. Sphecid wasps don't do this, instead they hold their wings folded one on top of the other flat over their backs. Both kinds of wasps are predators of other insects and while they can be a nuisance if they sting you or build a nest near your house, they are your allies in the garden and on the farm.

Look, but don't touch!

This is a black blister beetle (Genus Epicauta).  Their larvae eat grasshopper eggs but the adults mostly hang out on flowers and eat nectar and pollen.

Blister beetles (Family: Meloidae) are pretty infamous for their ability to defend themselves with a  poisonous chemical called cantharadin. They will secrete the toxin if you try to eat them or handle them too roughly, so be careful if you see one of these!