About Isodontia elegans (F.Smith, 1856)
Isodontia elegans, commonly called the elegant grass-carrying wasp, is a species of solitary, nest-provisioning, thread-waisted wasp in the family Sphecidae. It hunts orthopterans, including grasshoppers, crickets, bush crickets, and locusts.
This species has a generally black body, a rusty-red to yellowish abdomen, and transparent wings with light tinting. It was originally thought to only occur in western and southern North America, but it has increasingly been found in the northeastern corner of the continent.
I. elegans makes its nests in pre-existing holes created by other insects. It lines these nests with finely chewed fibers from dead weeds and grass. The grass forms a defensive barrier at one end of the nest, which stops parasites from entering while larvae feed on the paralyzed orthopterans stored in the nest nursery. Isodontia elegans may be attracted to the same types of nest holes that blue orchard mason bees prefer.
