# European beewolf (Philanthus triangulum) > A solitary digger wasp that provisions underground brood cells with paralyzed bees (especially honeybees); females can sting but are not aggressive to people. Source: https://insectscanner.com/species/european-beewolf/ (updated 2026-10-10) ## Is it dangerous? **Painful sting.** Females can sting and the sting is painful but these wasps are solitary and not aggressive unless handled or trapped against skin. Stings are uncommon during normal outdoor activity. Standard first aid for stings: wasps do not leave a stinger behind, so there is nothing to remove; clean with soap and water and apply a cold pack for pain and swelling. For signs of anaphylaxis (difficulty breathing, swelling of the face or throat, widespread hives, fainting), call emergency services immediately and use an epinephrine auto-injector if one is available. **Pets:** A sting to a pet can be painful and cause local swelling; multiple stings or an allergic reaction require veterinary attention. Because beewolves capture honeybees, pets that try to eat captured prey could risk being stung. ## Quick facts - Scientific name: Philanthus triangulum - Also called: Bee wolf - Order: Hymenoptera (Bees, wasps and ants) - Family: Crabronidae (Digger wasps) - Size: About 8-18 mm body length (females larger than males) - Colours: Black, Yellow, Reddish brown, Brown wings - Habitat: Open, sunny sites with loose, sandy or well-drained soil (sand dunes, embankments, paths, dry meadows, gardens). - Range: Widespread in continental Europe, parts of the British Isles, North Africa and western Asia; local distributions vary with suitable nesting habitat. - Active: Late spring to late summer (often May to September); active in daytime, especially warm, sunny periods. - Lifespan: Adults live for several weeks to a few months during the flight season; individual females provision nests over several weeks. - Effect on plants: Pollinator - Pest: no ## Overview Philanthus triangulum is a solitary ground-nesting wasp (family Crabronidae) best known for hunting honeybees and other solitary bees to provision its nest. Females excavate burrows in sandy or loose soil, capture and paralyze individual adult bees, and place them in brood cells as food for their developing larvae. Adults feed on nectar and visit flowers frequently. The species is widespread across much of Europe, parts of North Africa and western Asia and is active in warm months. Males do not provision nests; they often patrol nesting areas and mate with females. ## How to identify it Adults are robust, compact wasps with a predominantly black body marked with yellow bands and spots on the abdomen and face. The head and thorax are often darker with yellow facial markings; the abdomen shows transverse yellow bands. Legs are usually partly reddish or brownish. Females tend to be similar in colour to males but can be slightly larger. Wing veins are distinct and wings are brownish. A characteristic behavior — carrying a captured bee in flight and entering a burrow — is a field clue to their identity. - Robust black wasp with distinct yellow bands or spots on the face and abdomen; bands usually transverse and relatively broad. - Found flying low over sandy ground or carrying an adult bee in flight, then entering small burrow holes in the soil. - Solitary behaviour: no swarm or nest with multiple adults visible as in social wasps. ## Lookalikes - **Other Philanthus wasps** (Philanthus spp.): Close relatives share hunting behavior and similar coloration; precise abdominal band patterns and genitalia are used for species-level ID. - **Ammophila sp. (thread-waisted wasps)** (Ammophila spp.): Ammophila are longer, narrower-bodied with a distinct slender 'waist' and usually reddish abdomen, and they provision caterpillars rather than adult bees. - **Cerceris wasps** (Cerceris spp.): Cerceris wasps are usually smaller and more slender with constricted abdominal segments; most species hunt beetles or bees, and nest structure and prey choice help separate them. ## Life cycle - **Egg:** Female lays a single egg on the paralyzed bee(s) placed in a brood cell underground. - **Larva (grub):** Larva hatches and consumes the stored adult bees; it grows through several instars inside the sealed cell. - **Pupa:** After feeding the larva pupates within the cell and develops into an adult over weeks; timing depends on climate and may diapause over winter in some populations. - **Adult:** Adults emerge, feed on nectar, mate, and females dig nests to provision new brood cells with paralyzed bees. ## Diet and predators - Young eat: Developing larvae eat the paralyzed adult bees (often Apis mellifera and other solitary bees) provided by the mother. - Adults eat: Nectar from flowers and occasional honeydew. - Predators of the young: Brood can be parasitized by cleptoparasitic wasps and flies (e.g., the cuckoo wasp Hedychrum rutilans and satellite flies) and eaten by soil predators such as beetle larvae. - Predators of adults: Birds, larger predatory insects and spiders; males can be challenged by other wasps when defending territories. ## Effect on plants and gardens Adults visit flowers for nectar and act as pollinators while foraging; they do not damage plants. Larvae feed on provisioned adult bees, so the species is not a plant pest. ## Where and when to find it Look for them on sunny, bare or sparsely vegetated sandy ground, embankments, paths and dunes. Adults are seen on flowers for nectar; watch for females entering small burrow holes carrying bees. - Best time: May to September during warm, sunny daytime hours. - Tips: Photograph from a distance to avoid disturbing nesting females. Capture images of the abdomen banding, facial markings and behavior (carrying a bee) to help confirm identification. ## Fun facts - Females can carry multiple adult bees, one after another, into their burrows to provision a single brood cell. - Beewolf nests are targeted by specialized cleptoparasites, such as a cuckoo wasp, that try to sneak their eggs into beewolf brood cells. - Researchers have found that beewolves coat their captured bees with antimicrobial secretions to slow fungal growth and keep the provisions fresh for their larvae. ## Frequently asked questions ### Do European beewolf wasps sting people? Yes, females can sting and the sting is painful, but they are solitary and rarely sting unless handled or trapped against the skin. ### Do European beewolves attack honeybee hives? They hunt individual honeybees in flight to provision nests rather than mass-attack hives; local impact on managed hives is usually small, but concentrated hunting near hives can stress bees. ### Why is this wasp in my garden? If you have sunny patches of loose, sandy or well-drained soil and flowering plants for nectar, beewolves may nest there because it provides ideal nesting and feeding resources. ### How can I get rid of beewolves? Non-lethal options: restrict access to suitable nesting sites by compacting or covering bare sandy patches, plant ground cover, or place a layer of gravel. Avoid destroying them if possible because they are solitary pollinators. If stinging or large numbers are a problem, contact a local pest professional—do not attempt broad insecticide treatments that harm pollinators. ### Are they endangered? Philanthus triangulum is not generally considered endangered across its range, though local populations can decline if nesting habitat is lost; conservation of sunny, sandy habitats supports them. --- More about this species: [iNaturalist](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/143529), [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_beewolf). Identify insects and spiders from a photo with the Insect Scanner iPhone app: https://apps.apple.com/app/id1543946563?pt=126685406&ct=web-markdown&mt=8 Identification from photos is never certain: don't handle insects you can't identify, and get medical advice for bites, stings or allergic reactions.