A very large, matte black wasp, approximately 1 1/2 to 2 inches in length with bluish black wings. The legs and antennae are black. On some individuals the abdomen has a grayish cast. This wasp has a relatively short petiole or waist. At rest its wings are folded flat over the abdomen. A very similar wasp, the Blue Mud Wasp (Chalybion californicum), is smaller and the body is a shiny blue-black color.
Very common in July, August and into September. It is usually seen nectaring on flowers.
This is a solitary hunting wasp. Females dig burrows in loose soil, each tunnel terminating in several cells. She provides up to 3 paralyzed katydids in each cell as food for the developing larval wasp.
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