Thin-waisted Wasp

Description:

Thin-waisted wasp. This wasp is jet black and thin waisted, a medium-sized wasp approximately 1 inch in length. Distinctive silver patches on thorax which may wear off in older individuals. Eyes and antennae are also black and the wings are brownish. Found in the United States and Canada and also northern part of Mexico. Females dig their burrows before they hunt and then put in a caterpillar to feed the growing larva which emerge the next spring.

Habitat:

This thin-waisted wasp was spotted on a path at the campground we were staying at in Verona, Virginia.