Talk:Sphex pensylvanicus

Spelling of trivial name
This article's cited sources seem to be unable to agree on whether the trivial name of this insect is properly spelled "pennsylvanicus" (e.g., Frisch) or "pensylvanicus" (e.g., Stroud). If this can be cleared up, great. If not, the point may be worth a sentence (or two) of explanation). --Piledhigheranddeeper (talk) 01:25, 30 June 2010 (UTC)


 * Sorry for the late response; I didn't notice your comment until now. Some authors do like to try and "correct" scientific names. The current spelling of the state of Pennsylvania is with two Ns, (reasonably, given that it's named after Mr. Penn), but Linnaeus very clearly only used one, and there is no justification for changing it. The correct spelling is therefore "pensylvanicus". I haven't got any sources for any of this, though, so I can't add it to the article. --Stemonitis (talk) 13:06, 15 July 2010 (UTC)

Behavior and males
I think that this article hit some very interesting points, especially with mentioning kleptoparasitism. However, this article could also benefit with elaboration on exactly how these wasps interact with each other, not just their outside environment. For example, what is the males role in the nest? The males were mentioned for size comparison, but then no other information is added. Also, upon looking up the cited kleptoparasitism article, it might be worth mentioning what conditions are usually present when it occurs. Samontenegro (talk) 04:25, 12 September 2014 (UTC)

Do they hurt?
I’m curious if the sting hurts 66.54.99.134 (talk) 18:42, 21 August 2022 (UTC)

The Largest?
I've seen these giant black digger wasps over 3" in size. Big enough to shoot with a rifle at 20 yards! Why does this claim that the biggest species like this is just over an inch.? 76.4.10.14 (talk) 02:54, 19 August 2023 (UTC)