Sleeping-cluster

Guides

• Steniolia elegans

  sand wasp

  Steniolia elegans is a solitary sand wasp in the family Crabronidae. Females dig burrows in dry, powdery soil and provision them with paralyzed flies for their single offspring. The species exhibits progressive provisioning, with females repeatedly hunting and delivering prey throughout larval development. Both sexes form dense, spherical sleeping clusters at night where mating occurs.

  solitary-waspsand-waspprogressive-provisioningnest-aggregationsleeping-clusterdiptera-predatorwestern-North-America