Five-banded Tailed Digger Wasp Cerceris quinquefasciata
The Five-banded Tailed Digger Wasp (Cerceris quinquefasciata) is a scarce solitary wasp of open, sandy ground, where females excavate nest burrows in bare, well-drained sand and provision them with paralysed weevils as food for their larvae. It is largely confined to southern and eastern England, and Suffolk’s Sandlings heathland and Breckland sandy soils provide suitable nesting habitat. Like other members of the genus, it is a specialist hunter and an important component of the invertebrate fauna of open sandy habitats. Maintaining areas of bare, open sand through grazing, scrub clearance, and sensitive land management is important for this and many associated specialist invertebrates across the county. Image: © Paul Kitchener, Flickr.
Find out more: iNaturalist, Bees, Wasps and Ants Recording Society
Suffolk’s Priority Ant, Bee and Wasp Species
Key
Listed as a conservation priority in Suffolk’s Biodiversity Action Plan.
Closely associated with Suffolk’s landscape and natural identity.
Identified as a key priority for recovery under Suffolk’s Local Nature Recovery Strategy.
Has a Species of the Month article attached.
