Ammophila, also known as Thread-Waisted Sand Wasps, is a genus of medium-sized wasps that exhibit peculiar sand-nesting behavior.听听Like many solitary wasps,听Ammophila听dig听nests with听individual cells听in which听to oviposit their eggs.听听What is unique about this genus is that egg-laying females are markedly good mothers, provisioning their sand-dug nesting cells with live caterpillars.听听Some species drop individual caterpillars into each of these cells and oviposit a single egg on the side of each caterpillar, providing enough food to feed her hungry larva as it develops.听听Other species of听Ammophila听continually provision, hunting down live caterpillars and delivering them to their young as they develop.听 听
One characteristic of Thread-Waisted Sand Wasps that has baffled scientists is the use of pebbles as tools to close off their nesting cells.听听Some early scientists believed this could be a sign of higher intelligence in听Ammophila听compared to other arthropods, but听nowadays听it is听pretty well-accepted that these wasps aren鈥檛 Einstein Hymenopterans, just halfway decent mothers.听听In this particular image you can see yellow pollen stuck to the facial hairs of this听础尘尘辞辫丑颈濒补听辫谤耻颈苍辞蝉补, emphasizing the role of wasps as crucial pollinators and not just angry stingers.听听As a matter of fact, early account of this genus made special note of how focused and uneasily females are spooked during nest building, unlike some of the more commonly known territorial and aggressive wasps like Yellowjackets.听听听