Square-headed Wasp
 
Location: Calgary, AB
Date: July  8,  2005
               
      Photo 2

Square-headed Wasp

Common Name:  Square-headed Wasp

Latin Name:  Lestica sp. Billberg, 1820
                        (M. Buck, det.)

Length:  12 - 18 mm

Range:  Throughout Alberta

Habitat:  Various

Time of year seen:  Summer

Provision Nest With: Moths

Other: These wasps prey on adult moths and nest in
borings in wood. There are only 2 species of Lestica in Alberta: L.
confluenta
and L. producticollis, which usually cannot be separated from images alone.  This genus of wasp has a  strongly impressed orbital fovea (pit on inner eye margin), which distinguishes them from the very common Ectemnius. Normally the markings are yellow but in northern localities (like Edmonton) they can become whitish.  (M. Buck)
 

 
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