Stats

Lifespan

Annual

Size

Medium

Diet

Insectivore

Activity

Diurnal

Social

Solitary

Biome

Open woodland

Range

North America

Movement

Flight

Breeding

Egg-laying

Defense

Venom

Status

Uncommon

About

This slender wasp lives in open fields and constructs nests in sandy soil. It paralyzes caterpillars to feed its larvae, dragging them backward into deep underground burrows.

Life cycle

1. 1.
   egg

   A small egg is laid on or near the larval food source and hatches within days or weeks.
2. 2.
   juvenile

   An immature insect feeds and molts, growing through successive instars.
3. 3.
   subadult

   A near-adult insect has wing buds or near-mature form, one molt away from full size.
4. 4.
   adult

   Fully grown, with full wings and adult coloration.

Learn more

• View on iNaturalist →

Taxonomy

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Arthropoda

Class

Insecta

Order

Hymenoptera

Family

Sphecidae

Genus

Eremnophila

Species

Eremnophila aureonotata