Wasps & Vespids That Nest in the Ground

Ground-Nesting Wasp Types

• Digger wasps constitute a group of insects that creates nests in the ground by digging through earth. Among the ground-nesting vespid species found in the United States are cicada killer wasps (Sphecius speciosus) and the great gold digger wasps (Sphex ichneumoneus). Other ground-nesting wasps found in the United States belong to the Scoliidae and Tiphiidae families. Because these insects do not belong to the Vespidae family, they do not constitute vespids. Yellowjackets, on the other hand, do qualify as vespids and often nest underground if the opportunity to do so arises.

Behavior of Ground-Nesting Wasps

• Solitary ground-nesting wasps live alone, rather than in colonies, as many wasp species do. These wasps hunt other insects such as grasshoppers, crickets, cicadas and katydids. Some species dig nests, lay eggs, leave prey for the larvae to consume, seal the nest for protection and leave the larvae to their own devices. Other species monitor the nests and bring a fresh stream of prey in for the larvae to consume as they grow. Only female wasps create nests. Males neither dig nor sting. Yellowjackets represent the lone group of solitary wasps to commonly nest in the ground. These vespids don't dig, but rather inhabit hollows like abandoned rodent nests and build colonies within them.

Benefits of Ground-Nesting Wasps

• Solitary ground-nesting wasps present various benefits to humans and ecosystems at large. Most notably, these species keep populations of pest insects down by consuming them. Wasp digging does not harm plants and in some cases benefits them by aerating the soil. Ground-nesting wasps rarely harm humans and generally only inhabit a region for two to four weeks before moving on or dying. Wasps in general provide a great benefit to the environment by serving as one of the foremost pollinators of countless species of flowering and fruiting trees, bushes and plants.

Mining Bees

• Some species of solitary bees, known as miner bees, create nests in the ground much like solitary wasps. These insects constitute neither wasps nor vespids---they belong to the Andrenidae &Anthophoridae families---but to the untrained eye may appear indistinguishable from solitary wasps. Individual female mining bees create nests like female wasps do. Mining bees create more offspring than digger wasps and many female mining bees may occupy the same area. Digger wasps, while tolerant of one another, generally live at greater distances from one another than bees.