Black Cricket Hunter Wasp. The wasp seems perfectly built for this job. As its name suggests the black wasp is a large wasp native to north america and is common in roughly 2 3rds of the united states.
The wasp in the top two pictures measured roughly 1 1 4 inch long while the specimen in the third exceeded 1 3 4 inch long. Its mandibles hold the grasshopper s antennae and its two pairs of front legs are wrapped around the grasshopper as if in an embrace. Adult female wasps hunt for insects after laying fertilized eggs in this underground nest.
Cricket hunter wasps are 5 8 inches long dull black in coloration with grey or dusky colored wings.
Another species sometimes referred to as the steel blue cricket killer is about 1 1 4 inches long and is a beautiful metallic blue color with black wings. Green cricket hunter wasp. Other eastern washington wasps. Males and females look alike except that.
