Burrowing wasp ID?
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Joel Geier
Jul 23, 2015, 5:04:24 PM7/23/15
to Mid-Valley Nature
Hi all,
Each summer we get these large WASPS burrowing into a gravelly area on the upper part of our lot. This area was surfaced with sand and gravel for what the previous owner had in mind as an equestrian facility.
The first two photos show one of these wasps doing a bit of maintenance on the entrance of a burrow, and then going inside. The third photo shows the location of the burrow, next to a standard-sized basketball (the nest is in the part of the photo that's in color).
I was describing these wasps to Nancy Baumeister last week and she told me what the generic name for these wasps should be, but I've forgotten (maybe Pepsids?). Anyway it would be interesting to hear who else has seen these, and what they are.
I assume that these wasps must be capturing some sort of insect or arachnid prey and dragging it into their burrows as food for larvae, but I haven't yet spotted one in the act. They're remarkably fast excavators.
Another interesting phenomenon lately is that FUNNEL-WEB SPIDERS have been having a heyday with all of the large dessication cracks that have opened up on the hillside behind our house. The soil on the hillside is mostly "swelling clay" that swells up in the wet season, then shrinks as it dries out in the summer.
--
Joel Geier
Camp Adair area north of Corvallis
Each summer we get these large WASPS burrowing into a gravelly area on the upper part of our lot. This area was surfaced with sand and gravel for what the previous owner had in mind as an equestrian facility.
The first two photos show one of these wasps doing a bit of maintenance on the entrance of a burrow, and then going inside. The third photo shows the location of the burrow, next to a standard-sized basketball (the nest is in the part of the photo that's in color).
I was describing these wasps to Nancy Baumeister last week and she told me what the generic name for these wasps should be, but I've forgotten (maybe Pepsids?). Anyway it would be interesting to hear who else has seen these, and what they are.
I assume that these wasps must be capturing some sort of insect or arachnid prey and dragging it into their burrows as food for larvae, but I haven't yet spotted one in the act. They're remarkably fast excavators.
Another interesting phenomenon lately is that FUNNEL-WEB SPIDERS have been having a heyday with all of the large dessication cracks that have opened up on the hillside behind our house. The soil on the hillside is mostly "swelling clay" that swells up in the wet season, then shrinks as it dries out in the summer.
--
Joel Geier
Camp Adair area north of Corvallis
Olin Allen
Jul 24, 2015, 1:46:20 AM7/24/15
to Mid-Valley Nature, joel....@peak.org
Genus Sphex?
Olin
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