Species: Potter wasp (Ancistrocerus sp.)
Family: Potter wasps (EUMENINAE)
Category: Insects (Other)
Location: One Sighting
A. Insects (Other)
More extensive information on insects can be found in a separate blog post.
B. Potter wasps (EUMENINAE)
There are perhaps nine different species of Ancistrocerus Potter wasp in Britain, with perhaps 175 different species worldwide. They constitute a genus rather than a family, but we have grouped them here for technical reasons.
These wasps are solitary, with females nesting alone. Many take as a nest a tube-like cavity that they find, such as that formed by a twig, whereas others nest in abandoned burrows of ground-nesting wasps. Nests are provisioned with paralysed prey before the nest cell is closed.
These wasps are black and yellow, sometimes with white markings.
C. Potter wasp (Ancistrocerus sp.)
The individual shown here was photographed in August 2023.
Images
Potter wasp (Ancistrocerus sp.)
Ancistrocerus wasps are solitary, with females nesting alone. The individual photographed here is a male solitary Potter wasp, identifiable from the tips of its antenna being curled.
Potter wasp (Ancistrocerus sp.)
This is a relatively small wasp, as can be seen with it alongside a Greenbottle fly.
