Saturday, October 10, 2009

Great Black Wasp


There are some difficult things that happen when you practice being an Everyday Adventurer. Even if you try to share your adventures with others every single day, you just can't share every good thing you find. There are some days when you get lucky and can go back and find some of your past discoveries to share. This happens to be one of them.

What I have for you today appears to be a Great Black Wasp. I found this creature about a month and a half ago while at the end of a good hike. I was at one of my favorite nature parks, but it happened to be my only visit to that place for the entire summer. I had been distracted with several new places at the time, but I was glad to be back there.

I intended to give you a little bit of information on this bug, and I will give you a little bit, but I have something kind of different in mind this time. While I was doing my research on this creature I happened to find some of the information at a very well known place to me, and to some of you. While doing a Google search, I found a good post about these very same critters over at WiseAcre Gardens. So if you want additional information go check it out there.


You can find these relatively harmless wasps in the eastern and central United States in the later summer months, which is exactly when I found this one. These wasps hunt katydids and grasshoppers, and bury them in their nests with their eggs. See WiseAcre's site for more on this. They aren't aggressive because they are mostly solitary creatures, so they don't have a colony to defend.

When they are active, the great black wasp can be found on or near flowers. If you do a search on the internet most of the pictures you find will show them hovering over flowers. This is more of the behavior that you might relate to butterflies, but I wouldn't care to mess with any kind of wasp.


You might notice that the wasp looks a little different in this picture. The first thing you'll see is that it is looking straight at me. I must have gotten a little too close. But what is the other thing that looks different? Take a look at its wings. Its wings are spread out! I backed off a little bit when it did this.

The funny thing about this is that while I was browsing for information, somebody else mentioned the very same thing happening to them. They also backed away. These are big bugs, and this move can be intimidating, especially when you can clearly see that it is focused right on you!

After a few seconds of this the great black wasp flew away to find more food and to be away from me. I too decided it was time to move on. How did you like this little look into the recent past? I have plenty of them. Would you like a few more of these sometimes?

22 comments:

  1. It looks vicious! Did you take these before getting your new lens?

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  2. I'm pretty sure I would have backed off from it too. Past or present adventures I enjoy reading about them all.

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  3. That was interesting. He definitely looks different from our plain old wasps and it was good to read they aren't aggressive.

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  4. Great pictures. Not sure that I would have got that close!

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  5. Ratty, we have a problem! :-)

    I think I took pictures of the same critter like you, also about a month and a half ago! I'm glad you've identified it for me so when I post mine, I know what to call it..

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  6. Nice wasp. I've seen that kind. Looks so scary but yea, not so aggressive. But still kind of scary.

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  7. No way am I playing around with a wasp! Fun information and pics though! Thanks.

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  8. I am getting into a panic now.

    I feel so strange while reading your post. It drives me crazy when I read about Icy BC's comment.

    I took the pictures of this similar insect at Cerok Tokun this morning tooooooooooo.

    I need some Panadol.

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  9. Sure! Go back in your archives and give us whatever you haven't covered yet...I find it all interesting!
    guess what? We are getting SNOW here today and lots of wind. Yikes!!
    Wasps scare me as I just got bit by either a bee or wasp about 2 weeks ago..my hand felt like it had been shot, it was awful pain! Then it swelled way up to my wrist for a day..and then I got terrible itching there for about a week. So now, I won't go that close to a wasp or any other stinging insect. Until maybe next spring, when they are on my garden flowers. ha

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  10. i enjoy all of your adventures ratty, it doesn't matter to me if they are old or new. these are some awesome photos of this wasp, really close up. you have a great day my friend...hugz!

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  11. It looks intimidating... Is this soldier wasp?

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  12. I enjoy reading your adventures instead of having my own so I will not be going out looking for any type of wasp any type of adventure is fine with me.

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  13. I loved reading about the wasp Ratty..I have to admit it isn't a creature I'm overly fond of so I am a lot happier seeing your pictures than seeing one in person...it is nice to learn something about them too....I would love more of anything that you write...past or present!!

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  14. looks very interesting, good to know they aren't as aggressive as they appear.

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  15. Hi Ratty!! I love that you are showing a native bug on a native plant (goldenrod)!! Well done. Yeah for natives! :)

    I am pretty sure both are native...

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  16. Wasps scare me, even if they only like flowers. Seems one always gets inside somehow every summer. But I am fascinated by bugs too Ratty. Show all you want. ha!

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  17. I don't think I've seen one of these.

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  18. Thanks for sharing this. One time my sister and I found a dead one and we examined it like a science project with a magnifying glass. It was very interesting to see it up close.

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  19. Hello Ratty! I love these great black wasps. They are really beautiful, and SO black they kind of look blue. I get them in my garden, but I don't remember ever seeing them at Hill-Stead. Thanks for reminding me of them! Diane Tucker, Estate Naturalist, Hill-Stead Museum, Farmington, CT

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  20. Great photos of the wasp Ratty, you know I love insects. If you have more I would love to see them.

    I don't think we have that species here but I do remember them when I lived on the East Coast. The way you described him turning to look at you, our yellow jackets do that. I think I will just stick to the sweet little honey bees for the real close up shots.

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  21. @John
    Yeah, I still only had the regular camera, so I had to get up very close.
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    @Ann
    Having something like this turn and look at you is disturbing. Any of us would back off. :)
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    @Mountain Woman
    I was glad to find out they weren't aggressive too. He was clearly irritated with me.
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    @Louie Jerome
    I sometimes move in close before I think. I would have stayed back if I would have known it was going to look back at me.
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    @Icy BC
    They must have been very active right then. I'm looking forward to seeing your pictures of these bugs. This is a very happy problem to have. :)
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    @DK Miller
    I didn't think to be scared until it looked at me. That's when a touch of fear got me. :)
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    @Buggys
    It was only one wasp, and I figured it wasn't going to come after me if I didn't mess with it too much.
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    @Rainfield
    Now this is getting strange. Maybe we all saw the same wasp. :)

    Really, now we can all three have fun comparing our pictures of the bugs. I wonder if yours is the same kind too.
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    @The Retired One
    I'll be going into the archives a few more times, especially as the weather gets colder. I'm only just now getting used to fall. I hope it doesn't snow here for a good long while. I'd hate to get stung by a wasp. I haven't been stung since I was a kid, but I came very close right outside my house a few months ago.
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    @PJ
    These looks at the past will hopefully be especially fun for when winter hits. I have plenty of things I had to skip.
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    @VanillaSeven
    I only know that it is a great black wasp. They don't gather in groups like other wasps might.
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    @Allotments4you
    Seeing an angry wasp up close isn't the most fun thing, but this one was only a little bit angry. :)
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    @Betchai
    I was glad to know it too. The wasp did startle me for a second though.
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    @Julia
    Yeah, they're both native here. They have been trying to get rid of non-native plants around here, so there won't be many of those in my pictures now.
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    @Ginnymo
    Yeah, they're more fun when they're just in pictures. In the house is the worst place.
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    @Sharkbytes
    Maybe because they're such solitary creatures. Everything I read says they're all over Michigan though. I see them every year.
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    @Jordasche Bledsoe
    That would be very interesting. I don't think of doing things like that for some reason. Maybe I just have a short attention span. :)
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    @Diane Tucker
    The black color is what drew me to it, and that huge size. I'm glad they aren't aggressive. I tend to get a little too close sometimes.
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    @SquirrelQueen
    I definitely have more insects. I wish I would have been able to show some of them when I found them.

    I think here in Michigan is the farthest west they go. I know I wouldn't want a yellow jacket looking at me like this one did.

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  22. Ratty, awesome pics but now I'm wondering if this black wasp is stalking you, Icy and Rainfield. Kinda creepy :)

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