Thread-waisted wasps (Ammophila) have an extraordinarily slender, elongated waist (petiole) that allows flexible movement while dragging paralyzed caterpillars back to their burrows. Individual females show what appears to be tool use, tamping down soil at the burrow entrance with a small pebble held in their mandibles. They are solitary, non-aggressive, and important predators of caterpillars.
Habitat
Sandy soils in fields, gardens, and roadsides
Diet
Adults: nectar. Larvae: paralyzed caterpillars
How common
Common
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