Sphex Funerarius

Sphex funerarius, the golden digger wasp, is a species of digger wasp of the family Sphecidae.

Sphex funerarius
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Sphecidae
Genus:	Sphex
Species:	S. funerarius
Binomial name
Sphex funerarius Gussakovskij, 1934
Synonyms
Sphex maxillosus Fabricius, 1793 Sphex rufocinctus Brullé, 1833

Sphex funerarius can reach a length of 15–23 millimetres (0.59–0.91 in). These large, solitary, ground-nesting wasps are black with an orange-red large band on the anterior abdomen. On the head and the body there is fine and thin hair. Wings are yellowish with darkened tops of the front wings.

The larvae feed on living insects that the females paralyze and carry to the underground nest. The females of these digger wasps store several grasshoppers in a nest. They dig a 15 cm long corridor, with various brood chambers, in each of which one prey is stored with an egg. The preys are normally orthopteran insects, particularly nymphs of locusts or katydids. After three to four days, the eggs hatch and after another 18 days, the larvae are fully grown. Adults fly in July and August. They feed on the nectar of flowers (Apiaceae, Euphorbiaceae, etc.).

This species is present in southern and central parts of Europe and spread eastward to Central Asia.

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  Sphex funerarius with Metrioptera bicolor as prey
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  Sphex funerarius. Museum specimen
• Sphex funerarius digging and introducing prey into its nest