HYMENOPTERA > APOCRITA | Aculeata > Crabronidae > Philanthinae (Philanthidae)

A medium-sized (8-12mm body length), black-and-yellow species with 5 yellow bands on the abdomen that are rounded on the sides. The clypeus is black and the face has three yellow marks.

Cerceris arenaria is a locally common, widely distributed digger wasp that has a strong preference for sandy areas including coastal dunes and inland heaths where it can be active from late June to early September. It’s a ground nesting species that digs deep burrows with radiating side tunnels leading to the nest cells. The main prey species are weevils, which the wasps can carry in flight. Each cell will be provisioned with a number of weevils and when the wasp is happy there are enough, she will lay an egg on one of them and then seal the chamber. However, whilst the collection process is underway the nest will often be left open and unattended, which is an invite for another female to take it over. They may be solitary wasps, but they nest together in large aggregations and when this happens there is bound to be competition and conflicts.

Nests are also occasionally parasitised by chrysidid wasps notably, here on the south coast, by the Noble Cuckoo Wasp, Hedychrum nobile.