Large Black Sand-loving Wasp
Female, anterior
Ellura
Large Black Sand-loving Wasp
Female, Antennae & Ocelli
 
                      
Large Black Sand-loving Wasp (Tachytes sp ES02)Class: Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta)
Order: Ant Bee Wasps (Hymenoptera)
Family: Square-headed Wasp (Wasp: Crabronidae)     iNaturalist Observation
Species: Large Black Sand-loving Wasp (Tachytes sp ES02)
This Photo:     🔍Female, Face🔎

Thank you Brian Dagley for confirming the id of this species for us

General Species Information:
Found on Ellura (in the Murray Mallee, SA) and elsewhere
~17mm long female.
Very similar to Tachysphex. When we asked Milo van Loon about the differences he said "The differences are indeed very subtle. Tachytes usually has more obvious pubescence, which means that it appears hairier than Tachysphex. This is especially apparent when looking at the pygidium, which is more or less hairless in Tachysphex while Tachytes has a particularly hairy pygidium. The abdomen is also pointier in Tachysphex than it is in Tachytes."

Copyright © 2021-2024 Brett & Marie Smith. All Rights Reserved. Photographed 29-Dec-2021
This species is an Australian Native Species, not listed in the SA Murray Mallee Survey of 2010.