About Gnamptopelta obsidianator (Brulle, 1846)
Gnamptopelta obsidianator can be distinguished from closely related genera by the concave shape of its clypeus. It is a large wasp species, with adult body length ranging from 20 to 23 millimetres, or 13⁄16 to 7⁄8 of an inch. This species has a high, conical scutellum. Most individuals have an almost entirely black body, including the wings, with the only exception being the fore and mid legs, whose tibiae and tarsi are yellowish-brown. In some specimens, the orbits may be yellow. The antennae are orange-yellow, and their tips are sometimes blackish. Specimens collected from the southern end of the species' range may have partially or fully ferruginous head and thorax regions. Gnamptopelta obsidianator is very similar in outward appearance to Conocalma brullei, but can be told apart by the absence of an elevated structure on the abdominal petiole, as well as by the shape of the clypeus. This species is distributed across eastern North America, ranging from Quebec in the north down to Florida in the south, and westward as far as Manitoba and New Mexico.
