Hunting Wasps are so called because they go about capturing other insects which they use for food for their young.

There are many different species adapted to different habitats, and each, as a rule, has his own idea about the best food for baby wasps. Some use only flies, some refuse everything but beetles, while others take only spiders or caterpillers.

There are many different species of these hunting or solitary wasps, as they are also called, in Crater Lake National Park.

Probably the most interesting species of hunting wasp is the Ammophila, which can be recognized by its long, slender abdomen, mostly red, but with a black posterior end. The adult may often be seen on flowers where it feeds on pollen. As a rule, however, she can be seen lying about among the leaves looking for caterpillers. When one is found which meets her requirements she grabs it about the neck with her strong jaws, and inserts her stinger into the underside at several points. This paralyzes the worm, but as a rule, does not kill it. The supply of fresh meat is then carried to a little hole in the ground, which the mother wasp has previously made. An egg is then laid on the paralyzed worm, the hole covered, and forgotten about. In due time the egg hatches, the young wasp feeds on the living, but not active flesh, but does not emerge as an adult until the next year.

All of our solitary, or hunting wasps, have similar habits. They differ only in the kind of food they use, and the place they build their nests. Some use the small holes made by various wood-boring insects. Some build small mud nests in protected places. In fact the kind of nest and its location differs among the species as much as does the food they use.