Sphexish-behavior
Guides
Sphex ichneumoneus
Great Golden Digger Wasp, Great Golden Sand Digger
Sphex ichneumoneus is a large, conspicuous solitary wasp distributed across the Western Hemisphere from Canada to South America. Females excavate vertical burrows in sandy soils, provisioning individual cells with paralyzed katydids and related Orthoptera as food for their larvae. The species exhibits a distinctive fixed action pattern during prey retrieval, repeatedly inspecting the burrow entrance before dragging prey inside by the antennae—a behavior famously cited in discussions of genetic determinism. Adults forage for nectar at flowers and are frequently observed on blooms of rabbitbrush, prairie clover, and grape.