Great golden digger wasp

Open, sunny habitats such as gardens, meadows, woodland edges, and sandy or loose-soil areas where it can excavate nests.

Adults consume nectar, especially from flowers. Females provision larval nest cells with paralyzed grasshoppers and katydids.

A solitary, ground-nesting wasp; females dig burrows, capture orthopteran prey, and seal each stocked cell. It is generally nonaggressive unless handled or trapped.

Its sting can be painful but it rarely stings people. It benefits gardens by pollinating flowers and naturally controlling grasshoppers and katydids.