Steel Blue Cricket Hunter

Wasps and Bees Bald-faced Hornet Black and Yellow Mud Dauber Bumblebees Honeybees Ichneumon Paper Wasps (Polistes) Tarantula Hawk Western Paper Wasp

The Cricket Hunter (Sphex genus) is a member of the thread-waisted Wasp Family (Sphecidae).

Two types of behavioral attributes characterize the genus.

First, they are commonly called digger wasps because they dig holes in the ground for nests. The wasp in the picture was in the middle of digging a hole. The shadow next to the wasp's head was created by the top of the hole.

They are also known as parasitic wasps. True to its name, the cricket hunter will sting and paralyze a cricket, and place it in the nest as food for the young.

Digger wasps come in a variety of colors in addition to the almost uniform steel blue to black color of the cricket hunter.

© 2007 Patricia A. Michaels