Identification
Large black wasp with bold yellowish-white markings.
Range
Eastern and southern United States, west to New Mexico, Kansas, Illinois, Wisconsin.
(1)Habitat
Usually seen in open habitats with flowers.
Season
May-October (North Carolina)
Food
Adult takes nectar at flowers.
Life Cycle
Usually nests in wood borings, but sometimes burrows in dirt banks. Sometimes takes over abandoned nests of carpenter bees or ground bees, also Sceliphron (mud dauber) cells. Nest is provisioned with caterpillars, and cells of nest are separated by mud partitions.
Print References
Swan and Papp, p. 546, fig. 1189
(1)
Lutz,
Field Book of Insects, 1st edition, has a color illustration of this species on plate XC (90), plate 98 in 3rd edition.
(2)
Brimley, p. 440, lists just this member of the genus for North Carolina, gives season as May-October.
(3)
Salsbury, p. 276, photo
(4)Internet References
The Oklahoma Biological Survey website - has an image of an adult as well, (though it is mis-labelled).
