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Ammophila procera
Sleeping position
LBJ National Grasslands, NorthCentral Texas, 33° 18.468′ N, 97° 36.580′ W
It was photographed early in the morning on a cold day. Most of the insects had not started moving yet. I have photographed Solitary Bees early in the morning on flowers, in the sleeping position, usually head down, with their mandibles locked on a stem.
The ID is based on the silver thorax markings and the rust abdomen bands.
The speciman photo was compared to the specimens at “Insects of Cedar Creek”, BugGuide.net, and “Sphecid Wasps of Michigan”.
Click on the photo and then scroll up and down to see all of this handsome creature.
Ammophila procera
This wasp provisions its nest (Usually vertical or oblique burrows in sandy patches interspersed with shrubs) with sawfly or lepidopteran (notodontid) caterpillars. The adults of this family usually spend much of their time on flowers or in trees hunting caterpillars.
Leave a comment, even if you don’t admire the beauty and construction of insects.
They are fascinating creatures.
References:
INSECTS: Peterson Field Guides, Borror, Donald J., Richard E. White
Kaufman: Field Guide to Insects of North America, Eaton, Eric R., Kenn Kaufman
Internet References:
Insects of Cedar Creek
BugGuide.net
Sphecid Wasps of Michigan
Troy
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I C U Nature 
Although I am more a “plant” person than an “insect” person, my interest in insects is “blossoming” through your photos… 🙂
Beautiful image. I love these wasps, they are so fun to photograph. That Twiggy-like waist is crazy.
These are fascinating the way they clamp down on the stem to spend the night. I have a pretty good photo of this guy in my post, A Sand Prairie Autumn.
What an interesting wasp! I had no idea!
Amazing photograph! Thank you so much Troy for sharing this image. I appreciated the information as well as the beautiful picture.
I’ve seen bees and wasps sleeping, but didn’t realize they often clamp their mandibles onto a stem. Thanks, Troy. I have learned something new today and can now go back to bed.