Great Black Wasp - Long Island Wasp Removal

The great black wasp is also called the katydid hunter and the steel-blue cricket hunter. In the genus Sphex, this wasp is a member of the family Sphecidae and is a notably sizeable thread-waisted digger wasp, with females being larger than male wasps. Great black wasps have a completely black body and smoky black wings that shine with a blue iridescence. The great black wasp is found in New York and throughout most of the United States, with its distribution range extending into Mexico and Canada. This solitary wasp is a relative of the mud dauber wasps and is sometimes mistaken for a tarantula hawk wasp. Great black wasps are most commonly encountered in deciduous woods, sumac thickets, gardens, and fields with scattered trees. Only female wasps have a stinger used to immobilize their prey, including katydids, crickets, and grasshoppers, which are fed upon by developing wasp larvae. Like other types of wasps on Long Island, adult great black wasps feed on flower nectar and are important plant pollinators.

Great Black Wasp Life Cycle - Nassau County, Long Island

After mating, the female great black wasp will dig a tunnel in the ground, which leads to egg chambers that she constructs and provisions with paralyzed insects. Although they are solitary wasps, several females may nest near one another. Each wasp burrow is an angled tunnel approximately one inch in diameter and more than one foot in length. The female wasp will then lay an egg on the underside of the insect's thorax before sealing the chamber. The paralyzed insects will be fed upon by the developing great black wasp larva. Like other wasp species, the great black wasp undergoes complete metamorphosis through the egg, larva, pupa, and adult stage. The wasp larva that emerges from the egg feeds and grows for approximately ten days. The larva pupates the following spring, which gives rise to an adult wasp during the summer.

Great Black Wasp Management - Nassau County, New York

Since great black wasps are not aggressive and do not live in large colonies, they usually do not present a threat to humans. This wasp will only sting if its subterranean nest is threatened. However, if their presence alarms you, contact Nassau County Bee Removal, and one of our pest control exterminators will safely get rid of any wasp nest that may put you, your family, or pets at risk of being stung.

Great Black Wasp Nest Removal Long Island, New York