Subfamily Ammophilinae - Thread-waisted Wasps

Family Sphecidae

This page contains pictures and information about Thread-waisted Wasps in Ammophilinae that we found in the Brisbane area, Queensland, Australia.

The wasps in Ammophylini are usually black/red or black/yellow in colours. They build ground burrows and provision with caterpillars.

Thread-waisted Caterpillar-hunter Wasp

Ammophila sp., body length 30mm
We found this wasp dancing on a tree trunk in Daisy Hills near Buhot Creek on Dec 2009. It disappeared after we took two pictures. We were not sure what it was doing. This wasp has extremely long thread-waist with black and orange-brown in colours.

Reference:
1. Insects of Australia, CSIRO, Division of Entomology, Melbourne University Press, 2nd Edition 1991, pp 991.
2. Insects of Australia and New Zealand - R. J. Tillyard, Angus & Robertson, Ltd, Sydney, 1926, p297.
3. What wasp is that? - An interactive identification guide to the Australasian families of Hymenoptera, 2007.
4. Northern Territory Insects, A Comprehensive Guide CD - Graham Brown, 2009.