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Project Noah Nature School
Campsomeris plumipes fossulana
Large wasp. Black wings, head, thorax and legs. Black and white bands on abdomen, hairy legs.
Found on a Mexican Sunflower [Tithonia] in our garden.
I thought this large distinctive bee would be easy to identify. I believe I Spotted this same bee in the past. And identified it as a plasterer bee. But they are smaller, hairier and appear in the spring. Still a mystery. Turns out this is a scolid wasp. It was my understanding that bees were hairy and wasps were not. So I didn't consider that this could be a wasp. Scolid wasps parasitize scarab beetle larvae. Females fly just above the surface of the soil. When they detect a beetle larva they dig it up, lay an egg on it and rebury it.
Thank you Francis Floe. Campsomeris is the tribe. plumipes fossulana is the subspecies found in the lower part of the Southeastern United States.
Spotted on Jul 13, 2022
Submitted on Aug 24, 2022
