Yellow Flower Wasp vs Giant Grey Hawk Moth

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Yellow Flower Wasp Giant Grey Hawk Moth
Scientific Name Radumeris tasmaniensis Agrius cingulata
Order Hymenoptera Lepidoptera
Family Scoliidae Sphingidae
Size 25-40 mm 95-130 mm
Habitat Gardens Beaches & Coastal
Diet Nectar Feeders Nectar Feeders
Regions Australia, Oceania Americas (from southern United States to Argentina), occasional migrant to Europe and Africa
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Yellow Flower Wasp

A large, robust wasp with a bright yellow and black body commonly seen visiting flowers in Australian gardens. Females burrow into soil to parasitise beetle larvae, particularly Christmas beetle grubs.

💡

Did You Know?

Male yellow flower wasps are often seen carrying females during mating flights, sometimes visiting flowers while still coupled.

Giant Grey Hawk Moth

A massive hawk moth with gray-streaked forewings and a pink and black banded abdomen. It is one of the largest and fastest-flying sphinx moths in the Americas.

💡

Did You Know?

Agrius cingulata is such a powerful flier that individuals from the Americas occasionally cross the Atlantic Ocean and turn up in western Europe.