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Tachysphex sp. Not 100% sold on this ID but here is a link to have someone else take a second look:<br /> <a href="http://bugguide.net/node/view/78944/bgimage" rel="nofollow">http://bugguide.net/node/view/78944/bgimage</a><br /> Here is a second image from a different prospective:<br /> <figure class="photo"><a href="https://www.jungledragon.com/image/54436/tachysphex_sp.-2.html" title="Tachysphex sp.-2"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/media.jungledragon.com/images/2428/54436_thumb.jpg?AWSAccessKeyId=05GMT0V3GWVNE7GGM1R2&Expires=1759968010&Signature=5%2BEJWQAl81E%2FcH4mVBACm2J15AQ%3D" width="200" height="166" alt="Tachysphex sp.-2 for ID purposes only Fall,Geotagged,United States" /></a></figure><br /> <br /> Sorry for the lack of detail but this little guy was incredibly quick and on the move constantly. Fall,Geotagged,United States Click/tap to enlarge

Tachysphex sp.

Not 100% sold on this ID but here is a link to have someone else take a second look:
http://bugguide.net/node/view/78944/bgimage
Here is a second image from a different prospective:

Tachysphex sp.-2 for ID purposes only Fall,Geotagged,United States


Sorry for the lack of detail but this little guy was incredibly quick and on the move constantly.

    comments (10)

  1. View Pudding4brains's profile
    Pudding4brains
    Lion
    View Lion class
    Hi Stephen, I'd be happy to add any species, but I'm not convinced you're on the right track here ...
    Wasps are far, far from my area of knowledge, let alone Nearctic species, so I shouldn't even be trying but from quick comparison of images it would seem that the legs, especially the tibia should be really more "armed" with thick bristles on Prionyx spp.? Also, the colour of the eyes I don't find there quickly ... maybe we should try to find a better match. Is there any chance the folk at BugGuide would be able to come up with a firm ID? Cheers, Arp
    PS Suspect you need to be looking in the Crabronidae ... Tachysphex-ish, such as here:
    http://calphotos.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?enlarge=0000+0000+0708+0500     Posted 7 years ago, modified 7 years ago
    1. View Stephen Philips's profile
      Stephen Philips
      Lion
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      Yes, the eyes were my first uncertainty as well. I will keep researching and maybe someone will step up that has a better level of expertise. Thanks!! Posted 7 years ago
      1. View Pudding4brains's profile
        Pudding4brains
        Lion
        View Lion class
        Maybe the folk who named these can help?
        http://symbiota4.acis.ufl.edu/scan/portal/taxa/index.php?taxon=271367&taxauthid=1
        http://symbiota4.acis.ufl.edu/scan/portal/taxa/index.php?taxon=298985&taxauthid=1         Posted 7 years ago
      2. View Pudding4brains's profile
        Pudding4brains
        Lion
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        Both specimen linked carry a label "det. WJPulawski" - one from 1986 the other 1975, but at least in 2015 Wojciech J. Pulawski was still publishing and working at the California Academy of Sciences.
        https://www.researchgate.net/publication/278520995
        The 2015 paper lists his email as wpulawski@calacademy.org
        Seems he could be a go-to guy for these critters ...
         Posted 7 years ago, modified 7 years ago
      3. View Pudding4brains's profile
        Pudding4brains
        Lion
        View Lion class
        Also, Frank E. Kurczewski has published quite a bit on Tachysphex and related genera. A 2017 publication with an email address is here:
        http://www.bioone.org/doi/abs/10.1656/058.016.m901?af=R         Posted 7 years ago
    3. View WildFlower's profile
      WildFlower
      Lion
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      I am no expert either but Tachysphex sp. seems like a good match to me. According to Bug Eric around 43 species are described in North America. Looking at this set of species, I don't think we can go any further. The few specimens available are so similar that I doubt that even the experts mentioned above would be able to identify it from these photos, unless the eyes are a unique character.
      http://symbiota4.acis.ufl.edu/scan/portal/taxa/index.php?taxon=263384&taxauthid=1
      http://bugeric.blogspot.bg/2011/03/wasp-wednesday-tachysphex.html       Posted 7 years ago, modified 7 years ago
      1. View Stephen Philips's profile
        Stephen Philips
        Lion
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        So we should go with it? Posted 7 years ago
        1. View WildFlower's profile
          WildFlower
          Lion
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          Go with what?
          We are stuck at genus level (Tachysphex) with a choice of 43+ species within this genus. You know that we cannot "identify" it at genus level in the JD database, it only works with single species.
          If you want you can go ahead and try to contact the experts mentioned by Arp to see if they can identify the species from your photos.           Posted 7 years ago, modified 7 years ago
          1. View Stephen Philips's profile
            Stephen Philips
            Lion
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            Sorry, I misread your previous post... I am just now getting back to researching again, thanks Posted 7 years ago
      3. View Stephen Philips's profile
        Stephen Philips
        Lion
        View Lion class
        So we should go with it? Posted 7 years ago

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View Stephen Philips's profile

By Stephen Philips

All rights reserved
Uploaded Oct 22, 2017. Captured Oct 22, 2017 14:53 in E Britton Way, Tucson, AZ 85739, USA.
country flag of United States of America Explore United States of America 39,957 9,642 8
  • Canon EOS 5DS R
  • f/8.0
  • 1/800s
  • ISO400
  • 180mm
Captured in the fall. More fall photos.