Sand wasps and Pest Control

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Some insects are our allies in pest control, they are referred as beneficial. The solitary wasp can be added to the list of familiar such as: the lady beetles and lacewings. The sand wasp is about 5/8 inch long with distinctive yellow markings on its abdomen. The female builds her nest in tunnels in sandy soil and then hunts nymphs of several plant bugs, including the brown stink bug, for her offspring. She lays an egg on one of the captured nymphs and closes the nest with sand. The nymphs will provide her offspring with all the nutrition it needs. A single female can kill 40 brown stink bugs during its lifetime. Male wasps and bees can’t sting. Only females have stingers which are part of their egg-laying devices. Female solitary wasps are much too busy feeding their offspring to bother with us. When this sand wasp isn’t hunting stink bugs she is visiting plants for rich nectar for her nourishment.https://www.tumblr.com/widgets/share/tool?shareSource=legacy&canonicalUrl=&posttype=video&content=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DWfda3jDZHEw&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DWfda3jDZHEw&caption=