The Ampulicidae, or cockroach wasps, are a small, primarily tropical family of sphecoid wasps, all of which use various cockroaches as prey for their larvae. They are the most primitive family of sphecoid hunting wasps. They tend to have elongated jaws, pronounced neck-like constrictions behind the head, strongly petiolate abdomens, and deep grooves on the thorax. Many are quite ant-like in appearance, though some are brilliant metallic blue, green, and hot pink.
Bembix rostrata is a species of sand wasp native to Central Europe. The genus Bembix - of which B. rostrata is among the most distinctive species - has over 340 species worldwide and is found mostly in warm regions with open, sandy soils; Australia and Africa have a particularly rich variety of species.
Uropetala carovei is a giant dragonfly of the family Petaluridae, endemic to New Zealand. Its Māori name, kapokapowai means "water snatcher", alluding to the water dwelling juvenile stage (nymph), which, like all dragonflies, has a long extendable jaw that shoots out to snatch prey. It is also known as Carové's Giant Dragonfly.
The Nyssonini are a group of cleptoparasitic bembicine wasps generally distinguished by the petiolate second submarginal cell of the forewing and rather strongly sculptured head and mesosoma. Most species also bear sharp propodeal projections and spiny hind tibiae. There are ~230 spp. in 17 genera worldwide.
Philanthus gibbosus, the hump-backed beewolf, is a species of bee-hunting wasp and is the most common and widespread member of the genus in North America. P. gibbosus is of the order Hymenoptera and the genus Philanthus. It is native to the Midwestern United States and the western Appalachians. P. gibbosus are often observed to visit flowers and other plants in search of insect prey to feed their young. The prey that P. gibbosus catches is then coated in a layer of pollen and fed to the young wasps.
Cerceris fumipennis, the only species of buprestid-hunting Crabronidae occurring in eastern North America, is found throughout the continental United States east of the Rockies: from Texas and Florida north to Maine, Wyoming, and into Canada. The wasps most often nest in open areas of hard-packed sandy soil surrounded by woody habitat suitable for their buprestid beetle prey.
Ammophila sabulosa, the red-banded sand wasp, is a species of the subfamily Ammophilinae of the solitary hunting wasp family Sphecidae, also called digger wasps. Found across Eurasia, the parasitoid wasp is notable for the mass provisioning behaviour of the females, hunting caterpillars mainly on sunny days, paralysing them with a sting, and burying them in a burrow with a single egg. The species is also remarkable for the extent to which females parasitise their own species, either stealing prey from nests of other females to provision their own nests, or in brood parasitism, removing the other female's egg and laying one of her own instead.
Hunting wasps are members of various taxa of the insect order Hymenoptera. Their habits and affinities vary in many ways, but all practise parental care of their larvae in that they capture prey, usually insects, to feed their larvae. Whether solitary or social, most species construct some form of protection or nest in which they hide the prey and in which the larvae can feed and pupate in reasonable security.
Priocnemis monachus is a species of spider wasp endemic to New Zealand, where it is known as the black hunting wasp or ngaro wīwī. It hunts large tunnelweb or trapdoor spiders, paralysing them with its sting and storing them in burrows for its larvae to eat alive. It is the largest member of the family Pompilidae in New Zealand.
Ammophila urnaria is a species of hunting wasp in the family Sphecidae. It is a black and red insect native to the eastern United States. It feeds on nectar but catches and paralyses caterpillars to leave in underground chambers for its developing larvae to consume.
Leioproctus fulvescens is a species of solitary bee belonging to the family Colletidae. This bee is endemic to the South Island of New Zealand, and its yellow-orange hair distinguishes it from all other New Zealand species of Leioproctus.
Tachytes is a genus of predatory, solitary wasps, containing about 300 species.
Pison spinolae, commonly known as mason wasp, is a solitary wasp of the family Crabronidae, found throughout New Zealand.
Aphilanthops is a genus of ant queen-kidnapping wasps in the family Crabronidae. At least four species in Aphilanthops are described.
Bicyrtes quadrifasciatus, the four-banded stink bug hunter wasp, is a species of sand wasp in the family Crabronidae. It is found in North America.
Tachysphex similis is a species of square-headed wasp in the family Crabronidae. It is found in Central America and North America.
Tachytes distinctus is a species of square-headed wasp in the family Crabronidae. It is found in the Caribbean Sea and North America.
Ectemnius continuus is a species of square-headed wasp in the family Crabronidae. It is found in Africa, Europe and Northern Asia, North America, and Southern Asia.
Saygorytes is a genus of sand wasps in the family Crabronidae. There are about seven described species in Saygorytes.
Larrini is a tribe of square-headed wasps in the family Crabronidae. About 15 genera and more than 1,300 described species are placed in the Larrini.
