Great Black Wasps, one landing
Sphex pensylvanicus
Great Black Wasp · Brooklyn Botanic Garden · 26 July 2026
Two Great Black Wasps on the same milkweed head, one coming in as the other feeds. Solitary wasps don't share a nest, but nothing stops several from working the same good stand of flowers at once, and a July milkweed bed draws every big wasp in the garden.
The trailing legs on the wasp in flight are landing gear rather than a hunting posture, first to touch down. A wasp this size lands with an audible thump.
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