Great Golden Digger Wasp (Sphex ichneumoneus)
This lovely wasp has been working on her tunnels for a few days now. She drags twigs and pebbles into particular spots around her burrow and curiously watches anyone who approaches. She will often shift and waggle her head side to side while sizing me up. She makes quite a lot of vibrating/buzzing noises whilst working on her tunnels/burrows.
According to BugGuide, The Great Golden Digger Wasp "female digs burrows almost vertically. Cells are dug radiating out from central tunnel. Larvae are provisioned with crickets, camel crickets, katydids (long-horned grasshoppers). One paralyzed prey is placed in each cell, and one egg is laid on it. One generation per year."
''Sphex ichneumoneus'', known commonly as the great golden digger wasp or great golden sand digger is a wasp in the family Sphecidae. It is identified by the golden pubescence on its head and thorax, its reddish orange legs, and partly reddish orange body.
