Megascolia procer

This is a huge wasp of the Scoliidae family. Fortunately I was cured of my fear of wasps and was able to get close to this black beauty. These wasps are non-aggressive and are nothing to fear. They just want to get on with their daily routine.

You can get an idea of the size from the creeping foxglove plant. Here you can see the wasp standing on a more stable head while it feeds down the bell of the bloom. In the other image, the foxglove is too unstable and will likely break off, so the wasp drills into the base of the bloom from the outside. Many insects adopt this strategy.

Location is Bandung, West Java, Indonesia. Alongside a stream and paddy fields.