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Gentle Golden Wasps Adorned with Pollen

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Great Golden Digger Wasps (Sphex ichneumoneus) on Dotted Horsemint (Monarda punctata; photo: Deb Perkins).

Great Golden Digger Wasps (Sphex ichneumoneus) on Dotted Horsemint (Monarda punctata; photo: Deb Perkins).

“Watching these strikingly beautiful wasps in my garden over the last few days has been a privilege and a lesson in keeping an open mind.”

WHAT GOOD ARE WASPS?!! ....

If I had a dollar for every time somebody asked me this question after giving a talk about bees, I'd be rich. I understand the sentiment. As a child I had a terrifying (and painful) experience with angry yellow jackets. It's a common story. One minute, you're strolling innocently along, chewing on a stem of grass with your best friend on a perfect summer day...a split second later, you're running for your life and screaming bloody murder. These kinds of formative experiences usually happen after stepping on a ground nest. These highly aggressive wasps will relentlessly pursue and sting to defend their nest. Their venom can even be deadly (for the small percentage of people that are highly allergic), while the rest of us experience sheer pain, and irritations to the skin that can last for weeks to months. It's no wonder wasps get such a bad rap.

They certainly don't enamor us when they swarm around the lemonade, either. As omnivores, they are attracted to both meat and sugary food sources. If I had a dollar for every time someone complained about the "bees" at an outdoor gathering... 

If you know me at all, you can imagine how I jump at the chance, - a little too eagerly - to correct my fellow picnic goers who are blaming the "bees"(that are actually wasps) for spoiling the day. It goes something like this: "actually.... those are wasps. And did you know...out of the 4,000+ species of bees in North America, only non-native honey bees have toxic venom that cause anaphylactic shock?!"

This brings me back to our original question...which I invariably get after I wax poetic about the wonder of wild bees to my picnic buddy...what good are wasps?

My favorite answer is from Treehugger: "Without them, the planet would be pest-ridden to biblical proportions, with much reduced biodiversity. They are a natural asset of a world dominated by humans, providing us with free services that contribute to our economy, society and ecology."

Despite my education, and the ecological role that I know they play, I have been pretty wary of wasps throughout my lifetime. It's a visceral thing. I respected their place in the food web, but I didn't lean in to study them. That is until I laid eyes on the star of this Phenology Note: the Great Golden Digger Wasp (Sphex ichneumoneus). They have won me over! Watching these strikingly beautiful wasps in my garden over the last few days has been a privilege and a lesson in keeping an open mind. The huge golden wasps - adorned with gold dust-like pollen - are gorgeous enough. When viewed against the backdrop of dotted horsemint flowers? The combination is stunning - a sight to behold. 

Commonly known as spotted bee balm, or dotted horsemint, Prairie Moon Nursery aptly describes Monarda punctata as an "eccentric beauty". I'm particularly taken with the tiered arrangement of creamy lavender and green bracts that radiate out from each stacked flower cluster.

Not only is it lovely to look at, but it is one of my favorite additions to any biodiversity garden. It does well in dry, sandy soils, self-sows readily, and has a long period of bloom. How about this bonus feature: Heather Holm recommends planting this in a moon garden "because the light-colored bracts glow after sunset." 

I'm not alone in my magnetism toward these flowers. The nectar and pollen also attract native sweat bees (Lasioglossum species), bumble bees, and beetles. But the most common and notable visitors are Great Golden Digger Wasps and Great Black Wasps (Sphex pensylvanicus).  In contrast to social wasps (such as hornets, yellowjackets, and paper wasps), these solitary wasps nest alone - and because of their different life history strategies, they behave differently, too. Solitary wasps are generally docile because they don't actively defend a nest as a social group. They specialize in catching grasshoppers and crickets to supply their nests (a tunnel in loose, dry soil). To learn more about their nesting behavior and to see some excellent photos, check out this post at Counting My Chickens. 

Great Golden Digger Wasp in #ThePersonalEcologist’s habitat garden (photo: Deb Perkins).

Great Golden Digger Wasp in #ThePersonalEcologist’s habitat garden (photo: Deb Perkins).

These wasps are very beneficial to have in your suburban yard, garden, farm, or meadow habitat. Despite their formidable size (they can grow up to one inch in length), they are also harmless to humans. After spending a significant amount of time up close and personal with these wasps, I can attest to this claim first-hand. When it comes to pollinators, I'm like the paparazzi, and these wasps were incredibly accommodating and tolerant of my proximity. I could tell that they were aware of me, but they were not aggressive in the slightest. I would even describe them as gentle. They were far too busy fueling their reproductive agenda to bother with me. Their sole focus was consuming nectar to fuel their prey-collecting efforts (while incidentally providing pollination services to the Monarda punctata). As you can clearly see from these photos, the pollen collects on (and transfers from) their upper thorax - giving them that bedazzling dusted-with-gold look.

You, see? Wasps are pollinators, too.

So - WHAT GOOD ARE WASPS?!

As good as gold…in the garden.

I hope you enjoyed this Phenology Note!

Join me in witnessing the seasons of our wild world.

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#ThePersonalEcologistI partner with eco-minded landowners to create thriving wildlife habitats in their backyards, gardens, fields and farms, woods or campuses - at any scale.I have 25 years of experience in my field, and a lifelong commitment to wi…

#ThePersonalEcologist

I co-create biodiverse habitats with eco-minded stewards throughout the Northeast - at any scale.

I have 30 years of experience and a lifelong commitment to wildlife conservation.

Read My Story.

Deborah Perkins