Sometimes even the tiniest movement can catch my eye. That's what happened last week when I walked by a small mound of dirt in the back yard. Of course, I had to stop and investigate. I ended up plunking down on my bottom and spending a LOT of time taking LOTS of photos and videos. This is a solitary square-headed wasp, perhaps subgenus Blepharipus. These wasps prey mostly on flies and make nests in the ground or rotting logs. Such interesting behavior to watch!
According to the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, "Solitary wasps typically create an egg chamber and stuff killed/stunned/bitten/stung spiders and/or small insects into it. Mom lays an egg on one of the bodies, closes the chamber up, and moves
on. The carnivorous larva hatches out into its own personal pantry
stocked with enough food to get it to the pupal stage..."
Naturally, I had to flag her nests so we won't walk on it. LOL!
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