PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Lechner, G.K.
TI  - The Life Span of the Great Black Wasp <em>Sphex pensylvanicus</em> Linnaeus, 1763 (Hymenoptera: Sphecidae) and Other Observations from a Nesting Aggregation in Sioux City, Iowa, USA. 2003-2017
AID  - 10.1101/2022.01.14.476354
DP  - 2022 Jan 01
TA  - bioRxiv
PG  - 2022.01.14.476354
4099  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2022/01/19/2022.01.14.476354.short
4100  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2022/01/19/2022.01.14.476354.full
AB  - In a fifteen year period, the observed life span of both male and female Sphex pensylvanicus was documented in an aggregation of these wasps behind a retaining wall on a residential lot in Sioux City, Iowa, USA. In addition, early season emergence of the males before the females (protandry) and instances of male territorial behavior were also confirmed. Half or more of the wasps disappeared; possible out-migration?Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.