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Blue-winged wasp with dark blue wings and an orange-tipped abdomen with a yellow spot, feeding on goldenrod

Blue-Winged Wasp Over Your Lawn? Meet the Gentle Grub Hunter

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It’s August, and a dozen dark wasps are flying low, looping figure-eights a few inches above your lawn. They don’t seem interested in you, but there are a lot of them. Most of the time, these are blue-winged wasps, and they’re doing you a favor. A blue-winged wasp hunts the white grubs that feed on grass roots, and it rarely, if ever, stings people.

How to Recognize a Blue-Winged Wasp

Ohio State University’s Buckeye Yard and Garden Line describes the blue-winged wasp (Scolia dubia) as having dark blue wings, legs and thorax, with its most distinguishing feature being two light-yellow spots on top of an orange-tipped abdomen (OSU BYGL). North Carolina State Extension adds that the adult is over 1/2 inch long, with the hind part of the abdomen reddish brown and somewhat fuzzy, and that the two yellow spots can look like a band when the wasp is flying (NC State Extension). University of Maryland Extension puts them at about 5/8 inch long (UMD Extension).

What They’re Doing Over Your Lawn

OSU explains that the wasps usually fly a few inches above the turf, often in loops or a figure-eight. They’re searching for white grubs, with a particular liking for green June beetle and Japanese beetle grubs. When a wasp locates a grub, it digs into the soil, stings and paralyzes the grub, and lays an egg on it. The wasp larva then feeds on the grub. OSU notes their impact on white grub populations can be significant.

Dark wasps with orange abdomens flying a few inches above a lawn, the way a blue-winged wasp patrols for grubs
Illustrative image. Low, looping flights over turf are how these wasps search for grubs in the soil.

NC State notes blue-winged wasps are present from June to October but most abundant in August, and are often noticed over lawns infested with white grubs. A lot of wasps over one patch of lawn can be a hint that there are a lot of grubs below. Maryland Extension adds that they fly over lawns during the day, leave in the early evening and disappear at the end of the season.

Do Blue-Winged Wasps Sting?

Maryland Extension says scoliid wasps are not aggressive and generally do not attack people. NC State says they rarely, if ever, sting people, and because they help control beetle grubs, no control measures are suggested. Maryland Extension agrees that control is not necessary or recommended.

Pollinators, Too

OSU notes the blue-winged wasp is also a pollinator. Adults sip nectar from flowers, most often common goldenrod, and OSU suggests that a good late-season nectar source like goldenrod can help draw these wasps in to reduce white grubs.

Blue-Winged Wasp or Something Else?

Frequently Asked Questions

Should I treat the lawn to get rid of them?

The wasps themselves don’t need control. If grubs are damaging your lawn, that’s a separate turf question.

Are they safe around kids and pets?

The extension sources above describe them as non-aggressive. Teach kids not to grab or step on any wasp. See kids and pets around wasps.

What other harmless wasps are there?

See potter wasps and ichneumon wasps.

Want a Second Opinion?

Text a photo or short video to Northwest Ohio Wasp Removal at 419-614-6445, or use our contact page. If it’s a nest that needs attention, our wasp and hornet nest removal uses no pesticides.

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Large ichneumon wasp with a very long thread-like ovipositor resting on tree bark

Ichneumon Wasp: That Long ‘Stinger’ Is Really an Egg-Laying Tube

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It’s late spring, and a wasp lands on the trunk of a dying maple in your yard. Its body is an inch and a half long, and trailing behind it are what look like three tails several inches long. It’s hard not to assume the worst. But the ichneumon wasp you’re looking at is one of the least threatening wasps in Ohio. That long “stinger” is actually an egg-laying tube, and its target is inside the tree, not you.

What Is an Ichneumon Wasp?

Ichneumonid wasps are parasitic on other insects. The University of Minnesota Extension profiles the giant ichneumon, Megarhyssa, a large wasp found on declining or recently dead hardwood trees between May and July (UMN Extension). UMN describes two species: M. macrurus, reddish brown and yellow with black throughout, and M. atrata, black with an orangish head.

Identifying an Ichneumon Wasp

  • Size: UMN gives a body length of about 1.5 inches and an ovipositor 2 to 3 inches long, for a total of about 4 inches.
  • “Three tails”: The ovipositor has two protective sheaths, which UMN says makes the wasp look like it has three tails.
  • Where you’ll see it: On the bark of dying or recently dead hardwoods, often with the ovipositor curled or pushed into the wood.
  • Look-alikes: UMN notes it can be mistaken for other large insects like mayflies or dragonflies.
Close-up of a slender ichneumon wasp resting on a green leaf
Ichneumon wasps are slender, long-legged parasitoids that generally ignore people.

What That Long Tail Is For

Megarhyssa is a parasite of horntails, wood-boring insects that attack dying or recently dead hardwoods such as oak, maple, birch and elm. UMN explains that the wasp can drill a half inch or more into the wood with its ovipositor to deliver an egg into a horntail larva. When the egg hatches, the wasp larva slowly feeds on the horntail and eventually kills it, then the adult emerges from the tree.

It may look like the wasp is attacking the tree, but UMN is clear that it doesn’t injure trees. It only feeds on the horntail. If you’re seeing these wasps, though, the tree itself may be declining, and an arborist can tell you whether it’s a safety concern.

Is an Ichneumon Wasp Dangerous?

UMN says these wasps are harmless to people and ignore people when possible. If mishandled, one may jab with its ovipositor in self-defense, which generally results only in a minor wound. UMN’s advice: ignore them, and they’ll go away on their own. There’s no need to treat them with a pesticide, and there’s no nest for us to remove.

When It’s Not an Ichneumon Wasp

Ichneumon wasps don’t build paper nests or defend a colony. If you’re seeing many wasps flying in and out of one hole in the ground, a gap in the siding or a gray paper nest, you’re dealing with social wasps such as yellowjackets, paper wasps or hornets. Those are the ones worth a call. Compare them in yellowjacket vs. paper wasp and identifying a wasp nest by shape.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is this the “murder hornet”?

No. See giant hornets and Ohio for what that insect looks like.

What other harmless wasps might I see?

See potter and mason wasps, blue-winged wasps and great black and golden digger wasps.

How do I tell wasps, bees and hornets apart?

Start with our Ohio identification guide.

Still Not Sure?

Send a photo to Northwest Ohio Wasp Removal by call or text at 419-614-6445, or use our contact page. If it turns out to be a nest that does need attention, our wasp and hornet nest removal uses no pesticides.

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Small round mud pot nest attached to a plant stem

Potter Wasp vs. Mason Wasp: Ohio’s Tiny Clay-Pot Builders

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Every so often someone sends us a photo of something that looks like a tiny clay jug, smaller than a marble, glued to a twig, a window screen or the side of the house. That’s almost certainly the work of a potter wasp. These solitary wasps are some of the gentlest insects we get asked about, and in nearly every case the right answer is to leave them alone.

What Is a Potter Wasp?

Potter wasps belong to the same family as yellowjackets and hornets, Vespidae, but they live very different lives. The Maryland Department of Natural Resources notes that while social vespids like bald-faced hornets and yellowjackets are known for defending their colonies, potter wasps are non-aggressive and solitary (Maryland DNR). There’s no colony, no workers and no nest to defend.

One widespread species, Eumenes fraternus, is found throughout the eastern United States and Canada. Maryland DNR describes it as less than an inch long with shiny, dark blue wings and a black-and-white banded body with a narrow waist. The University of Florida reports adults of this genus are about 1/2 to 2/3 inch long (UF/IFAS).

Potter Wasp vs. Mason Wasp

Clemson Extension groups potter and mason wasps together in their own subfamily within Vespidae (Clemson HGIC). Many of them nest in existing holes, such as nail holes, drill holes or old beetle exit holes in wood, building little mud chambers inside. Eumenes potter wasps are the ones known for free-standing, jug-shaped pots. Clemson notes they’re different from mud daubers, which are in other wasp families and stock their nests with spiders. See mud daubers and cicada killers.

Those Little Clay Pots

UF/IFAS says the jug-like pots of Eumenes are found on buildings, windowsills, screens and shrubs around the home, and aren’t easily confused with other wasp nests. Maryland DNR explains that the female sculpts mud into a tiny pot, a job that takes one to two hours, then stocks it with paralyzed caterpillars and other soft-bodied prey, lays an egg suspended above them and seals it. She then moves on to build more.

Slender black wasp with pale bands on a white wildflower, similar in look to an adult potter wasp feeding on nectar
Adult potter wasps visit flowers for nectar. This image is illustrative, not a confirmed species ID.

Do Potter Wasps Sting?

They can, but rarely do. Maryland DNR notes that females don’t defend their nests and often sting only if touched. UF/IFAS points out that only immature wasps are inside the mud nests, so there’s no danger of a sting from the pot itself.

Should You Remove a Potter Wasp Nest?

Almost never. Clemson notes that in most situations potter and mason wasps are beneficial, since they prey on insects that eat plants. If they’re nesting in holes in outdoor wooden furniture you’d rather keep clear, Clemson suggests cleaning the item and sealing the holes with wood putty or polyurethane. If you’d like to see more of them, Maryland DNR suggests planting goldenrods and other asters as nectar sources.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I know it’s not a yellowjacket?

A single wasp visiting flowers and a tiny mud pot is very different from steady traffic at a hole. See yellowjacket vs. paper wasp and our Ohio ID guide.

Are there other harmless wasps like this?

Yes. See ichneumon wasps, blue-winged wasps and great black and golden digger wasps.

Not Sure What You Found?

Text a photo to Northwest Ohio Wasp Removal at 419-614-6445, or use our contact page. We’ll tell you honestly if it needs our nest removal service or can be left alone.

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Great black wasp with a glossy black body and smoky blue-black wings on white mountain mint flowers

Great Black Wasps and Golden Digger Wasps: Ohio’s Big but Gentle Wasps

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In mid to late summer, gardeners across Northwest Ohio, Eastern Indiana and Southern Michigan often spot a big, glossy black wasp or a large orange-and-black wasp working the flowers. They look alarming, but great black wasps and great golden digger wasps are among the most gentle wasps you will ever meet. They are solitary hunters, they have no colony to defend, and they rarely sting people. Here is how to recognize them and why they usually do not need wasp removal at all.

Great Black Wasps (Sphex pensylvanicus)

How to Identify Great Black Wasps

  • Size: Large, often more than an inch long. Females are bigger than males.
  • Color: Entirely glossy black body.
  • Wings: Dark, smoky wings that often shine blue or purple in sunlight.
  • Shape: A long, thin waist between the thorax and abdomen.

What Great Black Wasps Do

Adults feed on nectar and are frequent visitors to flowers like mountain mint, milkweed, goldenrod and Queen Anne’s lace. Females hunt katydids and similar insects, sting them to paralyze them, and carry them to a burrow dug in the soil. They lay an egg on the prey, and the larva feeds on it. Each female works alone.

Great Golden Digger Wasps (Sphex ichneumoneus)

How to Identify Great Golden Digger Wasps

  • Size: Large, roughly an inch long.
  • Color: A black head, a thorax covered in short golden hair, and an abdomen that is orange-red at the front and black at the tip.
  • Legs and wings: Orange-amber legs and amber-tinted wings.
  • Shape: A slender wasp with a thin waist.

What Great Golden Digger Wasps Do

Like their all-black relatives, adults drink nectar from flowers. Females dig burrows in sandy or loose soil, often in lawns, garden edges, gravel paths or bare ground. They stock the burrows with paralyzed katydids, crickets and grasshoppers for their young. You may see several females digging in the same general area, but each has her own nest.

Great golden digger wasp with an orange and black abdomen on white flowers; like great black wasps, it is a gentle solitary hunter
The great golden digger wasp has a golden-haired thorax and an orange-and-black abdomen.

Are Great Black Wasps and Golden Digger Wasps Dangerous?

Very rarely. These are solitary wasps, so there is no nest full of workers ready to defend it. Females save their venom for paralyzing prey. Stings usually happen only if someone grabs one, steps on one barefoot or traps one against skin. Males cannot sting at all.

Compare that with social wasps like yellowjackets, bald-faced hornets and European hornets, which live in large colonies and defend their nests as a group. If you are not sure which kind you have, our guide to identifying wasps, bees and hornets in Ohio can help.

Why These Wasps Are Good to Have Around

  • Natural pest control: They remove katydids, grasshoppers and crickets that feed on garden plants.
  • Pollination: Adults visit many flowers for nectar and move pollen as they go.
  • Low risk: They mind their own business and are not attracted to picnic food or trash.

Other Big Solitary Wasps in Our Area

Great black wasps and golden digger wasps are often confused with two other large solitary wasps:

  • Eastern cicada killers: Very large wasps with black and pale yellow markings that dig burrows in sandy soil and hunt cicadas.
  • Mud daubers: Slender wasps that build mud tubes or clumps on walls and under overhangs.

Learn more in our article on mud daubers and cicada killers. If you are seeing holes in your lawn and are not sure what made them, read ground bees vs. yellowjackets.

Do You Need Wasp Removal?

In almost every case, no. These wasps are active for a limited time in summer, and the adults die off by fall. Tips for living with them:

  • Wear shoes in areas where they are digging.
  • Let them forage on your flowers. They are not interested in you.
  • If burrows are in a play area you want to discourage, water and overseed bare soil. These wasps prefer dry, loose ground.

Call us if you are not sure what you are dealing with, if wasps are going into a single busy hole in the ground or a wall, or if someone in your home has a sting allergy. Those can be signs of yellowjackets, which do call for professional wasp removal. See our guide to yellowjacket ground nests.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is a big black wasp the same as a murder hornet?

No. Great black wasps are native, solitary and gentle. Northern giant hornets have not been found in our region. See our article on giant hornets in Ohio.

Do great golden digger wasps live in colonies?

No. Several may nest near each other, but each female digs and provisions her own burrow.

Will they come into my house?

It is uncommon. They nest in soil and spend their time on flowers and hunting in vegetation.

Have a Big Wasp You Want Identified?

Call or text a photo to Northwest Ohio Wasp Removal at 419-614-6445 or visit our contact page. We serve Northwest Ohio, Eastern Indiana and Southern Michigan.

Wasp near nest hole in soil in Northwest Ohio. Ohio Wasp Removal

Mud Daubers and Cicada Killers: Ohio’s Gentle Solitary Wasps

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Not every wasp around your home is a threat. Some of the most alarming-looking insects in Ohio are actually solitary wasps that rarely sting people and help keep spiders and cicadas in check. Before you search for wasp removal, it is worth getting to know two of the most common: mud daubers and cicada killers. Here is how to recognize them, why they behave the way they do, and when, if ever, they need attention in Northwest Ohio, East Indiana, and Southern Michigan.

Social vs. Solitary Wasps

The wasps that cause most problems, like yellowjackets, bald-faced hornets, and European hornets, are social. They live in colonies with a queen and many workers that defend the nest together. That group defense is what makes them dangerous.

Solitary wasps are different. Each female builds and stocks her own nest. There is no colony and no army of workers to defend it. As a result, solitary wasps are generally far less likely to sting, and when they do, it is usually because they were handled or trapped against skin.

Not sure which kind you have? Start with our wasp, bee, and hornet identification guide.

Mud Daubers: Ohio’s Spider Hunters

Black-and-yellow mud dauber building a mud nest under a wooden beam
Mud daubers build nests from mud and stock them with spiders. (Illustrative image)

What they look like

Mud daubers are slender wasps with an extremely long, thin, threadlike “waist.” The most common types in our area include:

  • Black-and-yellow mud dauber (Sceliphron caementarium): black with yellow markings and yellow legs.
  • Organ-pipe mud dauber (Trypoxylon politum): shiny black, builds long parallel mud tubes that resemble organ pipes.
  • Blue mud dauber (Chalybion californicum): metallic blue-black, often reuses old nests built by other mud daubers.

Their nests

Instead of paper, mud daubers build with mud. Look for lumpy clusters of mud cells or tube-shaped nests on protected surfaces: under eaves, in garages, sheds, barns, porch ceilings, attics, and even on the underside of outdoor furniture.

What they do

Each female collects mud from puddles and stream banks, builds cells, and stocks them with paralyzed spiders for her larvae to eat. Blue mud daubers are known for hunting black widow spiders. In other words, mud daubers are free spider control.

Do mud daubers sting?

Rarely. They are not defensive and will usually fly away if approached. Stings typically only happen if one is grabbed or pressed against skin.

Cicada Killers: Big, Loud, and Mostly Harmless

What they look like

The eastern cicada killer (Sphecius speciosus) is one of the largest wasps in Ohio, around 1.5 inches long or more. It has a reddish-brown head and thorax, amber wings, and a black abdomen with pale yellow markings. Because of their size, cicada killers are often mistaken for “murder hornets.” Our article on giant hornets in Ohio covers that confusion.

When and where you will see them

Cicada killers appear in mid to late summer, typically July and August, which lines up with the annual cicadas they hunt. Females dig burrows in well-drained, sandy, or bare soil: along sidewalks and driveways, in thin lawns, sandboxes, flower beds, and the edges of patios. You will often see a small fan of loose soil spilling out of each hole.

What they do

According to Ohio State University Extension, each female digs a tunnel, stings and paralyzes an annual cicada, drags it into an underground chamber, and lays an egg beside it. The larva feeds on the cicada, then overwinters in the burrow and emerges the next summer.

Do cicada killers sting?

Females can sting but are very unlikely to sting people unless handled or stepped on barefoot. Males cannot sting at all. The males are the ones you notice: they patrol the nesting area, hover in your face, and dive-bomb passersby. It is all bluster.

Do Mud Daubers or Cicada Killers Need Wasp Removal?

Usually, no. Both are beneficial and low-risk. That said, there are a few situations where action makes sense:

  • Mud dauber nests in a bad spot: Old, empty mud nests can be scraped off with a putty knife. Check that they are inactive first.
  • Cicada killer burrows in a high-traffic area: Heavy nesting in a sandbox, play area, or along a path can be a nuisance. Watering, thickening the lawn, and mulching bare soil make the area less attractive next year.
  • You are not sure what you have: If insects are pouring out of a single hole in large numbers, that is more likely a yellowjacket ground nest, which is a different and more dangerous situation. See our guide to yellowjacket ground nests.

How to Tell Cicada Killer Burrows From Yellowjacket Nests

  • Cicada killers: Many individual holes, each with a fan of loose soil, wasps coming and going one at a time, large wasps, and July to August timing.
  • Yellowjackets: Usually one entrance, a steady stream of many small wasps flying in and out, and aggressive defense when disturbed, peaking in August and September.

Why We Do Not Recommend Spraying

Our company is owned by a beekeeper, and our methods are pesticide-free. Spraying lawns and eaves to kill solitary wasps also harms the pollinators and beneficial insects that share your yard. In most cases, a little patience and some habitat changes solve the problem.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are mud daubers dangerous to kids or pets?

Mud daubers are among the least aggressive wasps in Ohio. Stings are rare and usually only happen when one is grabbed.

Why is a giant wasp dive-bombing me in my yard?

That is most likely a male cicada killer guarding its territory. Males cannot sting.

Will cicada killers come back every year?

Often, yes. Larvae overwinter in the burrows and emerge the next summer. Changing bare, sandy soil into thick turf or mulch can reduce nesting.

Do you serve areas outside Ohio?

Yes. We serve Northwest Ohio, East Indiana, and Southern Michigan.

Not Sure If It Is Harmless?

If you are not sure whether you are dealing with a solitary wasp or a dangerous colony, we are happy to help identify it. Visit our contact page to reach Northwest Ohio Wasp Removal.

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