DIGITAL FIELD GUIDE: WASPS (Order: Hymenoptera)
Ammophila ferruginosa
<-- from Key Location 5c
Identification features: Ammophila ferruginosa is the rarest of the three species of Ammophila found in the Gardens. Ammophila is a distinctively shaped wasp. The abdomen is attached to the thorax by a long thin stalk, and the tip is a slender bulb. The wings are usually held one on top of the other over the abdomen, but only covering about half of the abdomen. In the most commonly seen Ammophila species, the abdomen is black and red-orange, with head, thorax, and legs black. However, in this unusual species, the entire body is red-orange.
Nesting habit and prey : The female wasp builds and provisions the nest, which is a hole in sandy soil. (Ammophila means “sand-loving”.) After she digs a hole, she hunts for caterpillars. When she has gathered several caterpillars, she then lays an egg on one of them and seals the nest. She then moves on to build and provision additional nests. When the wasp larvae hatches, it eats the caterpillars.
Ammophila as pollinator : Other species of Ammophila have been observed on a wide variety of plants, but our single specimen of Ammophila ferruginosa was collected from Texas kidneywood.
