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Photo#41500
Pseudomasaris vespoides - male

Pseudomasaris vespoides - Male
Waterton Lakes National Park, southwestern Alberta, Alberta, Canada
July 11, 2005
This individual was patrolling a patch of Penstemon in a roadside scree slope, perching occasionally on larger stones. Masarine wasps in North America tend to be limited to mid-elevations in the west and are often very restricted in seasonality, appearing over a few weeks in early- to mid-summer where I've seen them (Colorado and Alberta). They form mud nests on rocks and these are incredibly hard to find (I never have).

Moved
Moved from Pseudomasaris.

Pseudomasaris vespoides
Roy Snelling, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles, has confirmed the ID. He comments that the pale markings are less extensive in northerly populations, more "whitish rather than yellowish".

Neat image -
I have yet to see a male Pseudomasaris - perhaps next year.
The rocks, even without your comment about location, remind me immediately of the immense precambrian formations exposed both at Waterton (Canada), and Glacier (US). Luckily, nature doesn't know political boundaries.

Welcome to Bugguide
This is a nice addition to this site. It shows the clubbed antennae, typical of this genus. Your comments are very informative, I will add them to the information page. If you are certain of the species ID I will create a page and move it there.

 
I echo that!
I second all of Beatriz's compliments and greetings:-) Pseudomasaris are apparently obligate pollinators of penstemon in North America. The family is mostly tropical, and its members collectively called "pollen wasps."

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