Subfamily Sphecinae - Thread-waisted Wasps
This page contains pictures and information about subfamily Sphecinae - Thread-waisted Wasps that we found in the Brisbane area, Queensland, Australia.
- Wasps in this subfamily are medium to large size, with the distinctive long and narrow petiole between the mesosoma and metasoma, i.e., the narrow waist.
Sphecini
- Wasps in tribe Sphecini are usually black in colour, from medium to large size. They predatory on Orthoptera. Females build nest for their young by digging long tunnel in sandy ground.
- Black Digger Wasp
- Sphex cognatus (Chlorion cognatus), Sphecini, body length 25mm
- This wasp is black in colour. Female burrow in ground and prey on crickets and grasshoppers for their young. It builds its nest on the sandy shore of a creek. More pictures and information please visit this page.
- White-waisted Digger Wasp
- Sphex sp., Sphecini, body length 25mm
- We found this wasp on Dec 2009 in Daisy Hills near Buhot Creek. It was building a nest on the sandy ground with small rocks. The nest was only it body size in deep so it must be a newly build nest. To find out more details please visit this page.
- Golden Digger Wasp
- ? Sphex sp., Sphecini, body length 20mm
- We found this wasp in Karawatha Forest during late summer. It was hopping and searching on the forest floor. Its wings, thorax and head was in golden colour with a black body. Its legs were strong and was running fast. Please also check this page for more information.
- Giant Thread-waisted Wasp
- ? Sphex sp., Sphecini, body length 25-30mm
- This is a large wasp with steel black colour. Its wings were tinted in black colour too. We believed it is a Sphecinae wasp because its long and narrow petiole. We sometimes found this wasp flied pass us when we were bushwalking in Brisbane's eucalypt forests. Please check this page for more pictures and information.
Ammophylini
- The wasps in Ammophylini are usually black/red or black/yellow in colours. They build ground burrows and provision with caterpillars.
- Thread-waisted Caterpillar-hunter Wasp
- Ammophila sp., Ammophylini, body length 30mm
- We found this wasp dancing on a tree trunk in Daisy Hills near Buhot Creek on Dec 2009. It disappeared after we took two pictures. We were not sure what it was doing. This wasp has extremely long thread-waist with black and orange-brown in colours.
Sceliphronini
- Mud-Dauber Wasp I
- Sceliphron formosum, Sceliphronini, length 22mm
- Some wasps build nests with pellets of mud. Those are individual cells in rows built by Mud-Dauber Wasps. They are very common around Brisbane, in sheltered locations. If a cell is opened, you may find a wasp larva, together with some spiders which are the larva's foods. They are collected by the mother wasp. We opened one cell and recorded the development of a wasp. Details please click here.
- Mud-Dauber Wasp II
- Sceliphron laetum, Sceliphronini
- We found those mud cells that we believed they are belong to the Mud-dauber Wasp Sceliphron laetum. However, we did not ever confirm seeing one S. laetum yet. Please check this page for more details.
- Reference:
- 1. Insects of Australia, CSIRO, Division of Entomology, Melbourne University Press, 2nd Edition 1991, pp 991.
- 2. Insects of Australia and New Zealand - R. J. Tillyard, Angus & Robertson, Ltd, Sydney, 1926, p297.
- 3. What wasp is that? - An interactive identification guide to the Australasian families of Hymenoptera, 2007.
- 4. Northern Territory Insects, A Comprehensive Guide CD - Graham Brown, 2009.
