Wasp, hornet or Fly? - Pygodasis quadrimaculata

C. quadrimaculata

Moved from Scoliid Wasps.

… George Waldren, 3 September, 2009 - 5:43pm

Scoliid wasp

and looks like Campsomeris quadrimaculata to me, but I may be wrong about that. Compare:

Definitely doesn't seem to be very healthy/happy. Could it be tangled in spider web?

… Hannah Nendick-Mason, 26 July, 2008 - 1:13pm

Yes Hannah. This looks exactl

Yes Hannah. This looks exactly like what I photographed. What can you tell me about them?

… Jace Delgado, 26 July, 2008 - 1:15pm

Click on the name I gave you

it's a link to our guide page. See also Scoliid Wasps page. It has much of the same information you found. Where's your info from, by the way? It might be worth linking the site to our guide page.

… Hannah Nendick-Mason, 26 July, 2008 - 3:03pm

Here is some info I found on

Here is some info I found on them.

"Many people in our area have reported
seeing large gatherings of generally black
and yellow or white striped wasps
congregating on plants and hovering over
lawns - I have seen them myself. The
appearance of such wasps can be very
upsetting to homeowners as they associate
these insects with stings and pain.
However, appearances can be deceiving!
These insects are called scoliid wasps. As
threatening as they may appear, scoliid
wasps are beneficial, and for the most
part, harmless.
What is going on when we see swarms of
scoliid wasps hovering over a lawn area?
These female wasps, sometimes hard to
see; skim over the surface of lawns in
figure-eight patterns. They are in search
of a certain insect - the white grub. Once
a female detects a white grub in the soil,
she digs down and stings it. The sting(s)
cause the grub to become paralyzed. She
then lays an egg on the paralyzed grub.
The wasp egg eventually hatches and
begins to feed on the live, but paralyzed
grub - not a pleasant way to go if you
think about it! The larval scoliid wasp is a
parasite that feeds on their live grub host
for about two weeks before it spins a
cocoon and rests. This is the beneficial
aspect of the scoliid wasp - a natural
biological control for white grubs (the
larvae of certain beetles such as May/June
beetles, Green June Beetles, etc.) which
would normally feed on the roots of grass
causing, in some cases, significant
damage to lawns. In addition to the
actual consumption of white grubs by the
wasp larvae, many other white grubs are
stung by the female wasps that are not
parasitized, but never recover from the
sting.
Now, if you were to grab a female scoliid
wasp in your hand, she would likely give
you a painful sting in defense. However,
as these are solitary wasps and not social
nest builders as are yellow jackets, you
will seldom if ever run into an aggressive
situation with them. Male scoliid wasps,
somewhat smaller and thinner than
females, have no stingers and are truly
harmless. Great numbers of male scoliid
wasps may gather for a time in swarms.
Adult scoliid wasps feed on nectar and
possibly pollen."

… Jace Delgado, 26 July, 2008 - 1:21pm login or register to post comments

Please cite.

Please cite the source of this information (which does appear accurate, and is certainly informative, thank you).

… Eric R. Eaton, 26 July, 2008 - 4:51pm

Link to my resource of information.

http://charlotte.ifas.ufl.edu/horticulture/newsarticles/ScoliidWasp.pdf

… Jace Delgado, 26 July, 2008 - 5:19pm