Great Black Wasp

Found throughout North America in meadows, gardens, and fields where flowers and grasshoppers are abundant.

Adults feed on flower nectar; larvae are carnivorous, feeding on paralyzed grasshoppers or katydids provided by the mother.

Solitary wasps that dig underground burrows. Females hunt prey, paralyze them with a sting, and drag them into the burrow as food for their offspring.

Beneficial to ecosystems as pollinators and natural pest controllers for grasshopper populations. They are not aggressive toward humans and rarely sting unless handled or threatened.