Pitted Resin Bee vs Horned Baboon Spider-hunting Wasp

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Pitted Resin Bee Horned Baboon Spider-hunting Wasp
Scientific Name Anthidiellum strigatum Sphex tomentosus
Order Hymenoptera Hymenoptera
Family Megachilidae Sphecidae
Size 6-9 mm 25-35 mm
Habitat Farmland Deserts & Drylands
Diet Nectar Feeders Predators
Regions Europe, North Africa East Africa (Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Uganda)
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Pitted Resin Bee

A small, stout bee with bold yellow and black markings that constructs free-standing resin nests on rocks and walls. It is widespread across Europe.

💡

Did You Know?

Unlike most bees, it builds its nest cells as exposed resin lumps on open rock surfaces rather than hiding them in cavities.

Horned Baboon Spider-hunting Wasp

A large, solitary wasp with a black body and metallic blue-green sheen. It hunts grasshoppers and katydids, paralyzing them and provisioning underground nest cells.

💡

Did You Know?

French naturalist Jean-Henri Fabre's observations of this wasp's rigid behavioral routines led to famous debates about insect intelligence.