These are common visitors in the yard, especially in the spring. I often see them flitting about, digging nests, and dragging their paralyzed victims (cutworms - Noctuid larvae) back to their nests to feed their offspring. Female cutworm wasps dig their nests after catching and paralyzing their prey, which is opposite that of other wasps in the family Sphecidae. After dragging the caterpillar to the nest, a single egg is laid and the nest is closed and well concealed by covering with rocks and other debris.
I watched this wasp moving the caterpillar, taking occasional breaks, maybe to find a place to dig its nest. (Bug Eric says cutworm wasps paralyze their prey and then dig a burrow to bury it in.) When I came back an hour or so later, the caterpillar ...
These are common visitors in the yard, especially in the spring. I often see them flitting about, digging nests, and dragging their paralyzed victims (cutworms - Noctuid larvae) back to their nests to feed their offspring. Female cutworm wasps dig their nests after catching and paralyzing their prey, which is opposite that of other wasps in the family Sphecidae. After dragging the caterpillar to the nest, a single egg is laid and the nest is closed and well concealed by covering with rocks and other debris.
