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- ›Winged and Once-winged Insects
- ›Ants, Bees, Wasps, and Sawflies
- ›Narrow-waisted Wasps, Ants, and Bees
- ›Ants, Bees, and Stinging Wasps
- ›Bees and Apoid Wasps
- ›Thread-waisted Wasps
- ›Sphecinae
- ›Sphecini
- ›Sphex
Sphex
Wasps of the genus Sphex (commonly known as digger wasps) are cosmopolitan predators that sting and paralyze prey insects. Sphex is one of many genera in the old digger wasp family Sphecidae (sensu lato), though most apart from the Sphecinae have now been moved to the family Crabronidae. There are over 130 known Sphex species.
60 branches of this group, most-observed first
Great Golden Digger Wasp
speciesSphex ichneumoneus
Great Black Digger Wasp
speciesSphex pensylvanicus
Golden Digger Wasp
speciesSphex funerarius
Sphex nudus
speciesSphex nudus
Sphex argentatus
complexSphex argentatus
Golden-reined Digger Wasp
speciesSphex habenus
Sphex subtruncatus
complexSphex subtruncatus
Sphex dorsalis
speciesSphex dorsalis
Sphex latreillei
speciesSphex latreillei
Sphex flavovestitus
speciesSphex flavovestitus
Sphex flavipennis
speciesSphex flavipennis
Jamaican Digger Wasp
speciesSphex jamaicensis
Sphex tepanecus
speciesSphex tepanecus
Sphex gaullei
complexSphex gaullei
Sphex ashmeadi
speciesSphex ashmeadi
Sphex fumipennis
speciesSphex fumipennis
Sphex modestus
speciesSphex modestus
Sphex leuconotus
speciesSphex leuconotus
Sphex umtalicus
complexSphex umtalicus
Sphex resinipes
speciesSphex resinipes
Sphex argentinus
speciesSphex argentinus
Sphex texanus
speciesSphex texanus
Sphex carbonicolor
speciesSphex carbonicolor
Sphex luctuosus
speciesSphex luctuosus
Sphex ermineus
speciesSphex ermineus
Sphex nitidiventris
speciesSphex nitidiventris
Sphex opacus
speciesSphex opacus
Sphex melanopus
speciesSphex melanopus
Sphex bohemanni
complexSphex bohemanni
Sphex ephippium
speciesSphex ephippium
Sphex resplendens
complexSphex resplendens
Sphex peruanus
speciesSphex peruanus
Sphex corporosus
speciesSphex corporosus
Sphex mendozanus
speciesSphex mendozanus
Sphex satanas
complexSphex satanas
Sphex nigrohirtus
complexSphex nigrohirtus
Sphex caliginosus
speciesSphex caliginosus
Sphex atropilosus
speciesSphex atropilosus
Sphex jucundus
speciesSphex jucundus
Sphex gilberti
speciesSphex gilberti
Sphex argentatissimus
speciesSphex argentatissimus
Sphex gracilis
speciesSphex gracilis
Sphex tinctipennis
speciesSphex tinctipennis
Sphex servillei
speciesSphex servillei
Sphex cubensis
speciesSphex cubensis
Sphex darwiniensis
speciesSphex darwiniensis
Sphex latilobus
speciesSphex latilobus
Sphex flammeus
speciesSphex flammeus
Sphex maximiliani
speciesSphex maximiliani
Sphex brevipetiolus
speciesSphex brevipetiolus
Sphex caelebs
speciesSphex caelebs
Sphex inusitatus
speciesSphex inusitatus
Sphex castaneipes
speciesSphex castaneipes
Sphex zubaidiyacus
speciesSphex zubaidiyacus
Sphex guatemalensis
speciesSphex guatemalensis
Sphex fortunatus
speciesSphex fortunatus
Sphex imporcatus
speciesSphex imporcatus
Sphex pretiosus
speciesSphex pretiosus
Sphex gisteli
speciesSphex gisteli
Sphex malagassus
complexSphex malagassus
Where it lives
Recorded sightings
—
geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.
Drag the globe to turn it. Dots are where records exist, not a range map; darker means more records.
In the stacks
Searching the stacks…
Every page naming Sphex in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
This page is assembled live from iNaturalist, GBIF, Wikipedia, the Source Library and the Internet Archive. It is not yet part of the hand-edited codex. iNaturalist taxon 700734.