This is a solitary Mason Wasp in the subfamily Eumeninae. This wasp is approximately 3/4 inch in length. It is mostly black with a ring of small yellow spots around the thorax and 4 yellow bands on the abdomen. The wings are brown. Females have dark tarsi and less yellow on the face than males. The dark metanotum (area between the thorax and the abdomen) separates this species from other members of the genus.
Probably common in Fontenelle Forest and Neale Woods. Adults can be seen nectaring on flowers in summer and early fall.
These wasps provide paralyzed caterpillars as food for the larval wasp. They nest in borings in stems of shrubs and in abandoned mud-dauber nests. They seal the nest cells with mud.
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