Great Black Wasp

Appearance

 

The Great Black Wasp, as its name infers, is very large for a wasp.  It is black and contains no colored stripes, spots, or other patterns on the body.  The adult female wasp can reach about 1 to ½ inches long and are always a bit larger than the males. 

 

Behavior, Diet and Habits

 

The Black Wasp is found in the eastern United States.  They are not aggressive mainly because they are solitary and do not have a colony to defend.  Their name is intimidating, but the name comes from the size, not the aggressiveness of the insect.  The male wasp does not even have the ability to sting—their only purpose in nature is to mate.  The female Great Black Wasp can sting—but only does if their nest is threatened. 

This wasp is a subterranean wasp---it lives underground and will construct a small nest where they can care for their offspring. 

They will gather prey, most of the time that is grasshoppers, locust, cicadas and other large fleshy insects.  They feed them to their immature offspring.  This wasp can be seen flying with its paralyzed insect prey in their mouth and then stuffing the prey into the underground nest.  They do a lot of hunting, so the female with consume a lot of high-energy food.  Their primary food source is nectar from surrounding flowers.  They prefer a habitat that is located where their prey is—meadows, pastures and residential areas with gardens and landscaping plants with flowers. Pest Control in Cave Creek AZ

 

Sting

 

Because this wasp is solitary, and does not have a large colony to defend like a social wasp, they are not aggressive.  They can sting, but only will if provoked and sense that their nest is threatened.  Pest Control in Cave Creek AZ

 

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