Bug FAQGreat Golden Digger Wasp
Sphex ichneumoneus · Order: Hymenoptera · Family: Sphecidae
Also called: American Golden Digger Wasp
The Great Golden Digger Wasp has golden hairs on its head and thorax, reddish-orange legs and a partly reddish-orange body. It lives from Canada down through South America and hunts paralyzed grasshoppers and crickets to feed its larvae. When it finds a paralyzed prey positioned correctly near its burrow, it pulls the prey inside by the antennae.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
Look for golden fuzz on the head and thorax, plus reddish-orange legs and a partly reddish-orange body.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Adults capture and paralyze various Orthoptera (grasshoppers, crickets) to provision their young.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
The same fixed action pattern governs how the female transports prey to the nest for her larvae.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 49 of 51 states and DC. Most records: California, Texas, Massachusetts, Washington, New York, Ohio, Illinois, Florida.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Status: native in North America; native in United States. Source: iNaturalist
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Same family (Sphecidae)
Yellow-legged Mud-dauber WaspSceliphron caementariumCan sting
Common Blue Mud-dauber WaspChalybion californicumCan sting
Great Black Digger WaspSphex pensylvanicusCan sting
Gold-marked Thread-waisted WaspEremnophila aureonotata
Mexican Grass-carrying WaspIsodontia mexicana
Common Thread-waisted WaspAmmophila proceraSources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sphex_ichneumoneus
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-22 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-22.