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Subfamily Crabroninae - Square-headed Wasps

Square haeded wasp - Ectemnius Unidentified Wasp - Trypoxylon TX Wasp species white & red abdomen - Larra bicolor - female wasp - Lestica Bee - Tachytes Small Black Wasp With White Stripes - Oxybelus Sphecidae: Astata sp.? - female Ectemnius dives? - Ectemnius dives - female
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Hymenoptera (Ants, Bees, Wasps and Sawflies)
No Taxon (Aculeata - Ants, Bees and Stinging Wasps)
No Taxon (Apoidea sans Anthophila – Apoid Wasps)
Family Crabronidae (Square-headed Wasps, Sand Wasps, and Allies)
Subfamily Crabroninae (Square-headed Wasps)
Numbers
~520 spp. in 31 genera of 6 tribes in our area(1), ~4,660 spp. in >100 genera of 7 tribes worldwide(2)
Size
body 6-20 mm
Identification
Large and quadrate head, with the inner margins of the eyes straight and converging ventrally. Forewing has only one submarginal cell (except in many Larrini).
Habitat
Adults commonly found on flowers
Remarks
Some nest in hollow stems or in abandoned galleries in wood, others burrow in the ground. Prey is mostly flies, but some utilize other insects.