solitary wasp

noun

1. any of numerous wasps, as the sand wasps or mud wasps, that do not live in a community.

Word History and Origins

Origin of solitary wasp¹

First recorded in 1820–30

Example Sentences

The solitary wasp, Sphex, nearing her time of eggs, travels aloft with a single theory about caterpillars.

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What about the tarantula hawk, a solitary wasp, whose sting is far more painful than that of a honeybee but leaves no lasting damage at all?

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Seeing this flamboyant solitary wasp, whose venom helped keep it alive on earth many millions of years before humans first appeared, the beauty of the sting was self-evident: not for the pain it causes, but for the life it sustains.

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A solitary wasp paralyzes its prey and lays an egg on it to provide for its offspring.

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But some take them quite seriously, and no one, even in a Woody Allen movie, is more tragically affected than the male solitary wasp.

Read more on Time Magazine Archive