American digger wasp - American digger wasp

A wasp belonging to the family Hymenoptera, family Burrowing wasp. Its body length is 20-25 mm. Its body, including the abdominal stalk, is black, with orange-yellow markings, and its wings are cloudy brown. It is a member of the digger wasp family. This species is native to North America, but has now spread to Australia and Europe. It invaded Japan in 1945, and has become locally established on the Pacific coast of the Kanto and Kansai regions, as well as in parts of the Hokuriku region. It makes mud jar-shaped larval chambers for its nests, just like the closely related common species S. madraspatanum , in which it hunts crab spiders and stores them as food for its larvae.

[Hirohisa Suda]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

昆虫綱膜翅(まくし)目アナバチ科に属するハチ。体長20～25ミリメートル。腹柄(ふくへい)を含む体は黒色で、橙黄(とうこう)色の斑紋(はんもん)を有し、はねは茶色に曇るジガバチの仲間である。本種は北アメリカが原産地であるが、現在ではオーストラリアやヨーロッパにまで分布を広げた。日本には1945年（昭和20）に侵入し、関東から関西の太平洋側および北陸地方の一部に局地的に定着している。巣は近縁の普通種キゴシジガバチS. madraspatanumと同様、泥でたこ壺(つぼ)型の幼虫室をつくり、カニグモを狩り、幼虫の食料として蓄える。

［須田博久］

出典　小学館　日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)について　情報 | 凡例