A Mating Pair on Mountain Mint

Eremnophila aureonotata - Gold-marked Thread-waisted Wasp...

"This wasp occurs in eastern North America from central Minnesota south to eastern Texas, and east to southern New Bruns- wick (Canada) and Florida. Scattered populations occur in South Dakota, Nebraska, and Colorado.

Biology: Eremnophila aureonotata occurs in flower-rich meadows or prairies sited close to woodlands, habitat for its prey, large moth caterpillars. This wasp nests in the ground; the female excavates a shallow nest burrow prior to hunting for prey. After capturing and stinging the prey to immobilize it, she transports the large prey across the ground, straddling it, and grasping its head in her mandi- bles. She places a single caterpillar in the nest cell and lays an egg on it before backfilling the nest. To conceal the location of the fully provisioned nest, she tamps the backfilled soil with her head, then collects pieces of plant debris and small pebbles to place on the disturbed soil.

Prey: Moth larvae (caterpillars) from the families Noctuidae, Not- odontidae, and Sphingidae.

Common Native Nectar Plants: Mountain mint (Pycnanthemum)"
~pollinatorsnativeplants.com


Another photo of the couple in the extra


For the Record,
This day came in hot and sunny. a cooling trend is thankfully on the way for a few days at least.


All hands back to the real world after vacation.