A Scarab Hunter Wasp or, more properly, a Five-banded Tiphiid Wasp. The adults eat flower nectar but their larvae dine on the paralyzed bodies of scarab beetle larvae courtesy of the gruesome prospecting of the female Tiphiid Wasp who seeks out the unlucky scarab larvae in their underground nurseries.
This is a male Five-banded Tiphiid Wasp that is showing off his faux stinger which is all for show to scare off predators but is not a real stinger. This lone individual was foraging at the Oslo Riverfront Conservation Area on a dreary afternoon threatening rain.
Categories: Nature