This page contains details and photos of spider wasps that live in our backyard at Lake Macquarie, New South Wales.
I've seen these black wasps around the yard for years. Mostly noticing them digging, very quickly, into sandy soil near walls and pavers. All the other wasps built mud or paper like nests well above ground level.
The other thing I noticed was these wasps were not aggressive and simply moved out of the way when disturbed in the garden. I've never known anyone to be stung by one, but I wouldn't torment any sort of wasp just to find out.
The black wasp must have a decent sting though. This one hit the back of the spider before it knew what happened. The spider quickly became paralised and easy prey for the wasp.
When the wasp tried to fly off with the spider, it couldnt get airbourne. After many unsuccessful attempts, the wasp dropped the spider to the ground and proceeded to drag it to its burrow. Took it about two hours to cover 10 meters across country.
