Wasps

Beyond the social wasps, New Zealand also has a range of other wasps, including native solitary hunting wasps, spider wasps, parasitoid wasps, and a variety of introduced solitary species. Unlike paper wasps and Vespula wasps, these species do not live in large colonies and are usually more focused on hunting prey or provisioning nests for their larvae.

Many of these wasps are seldom noticed, but they play important roles as predators or parasitoids of other invertebrates. In New Zealand, native stinging wasps are few in number and are all solitary hunting wasps, while other species such as mud-daubers and potter wasps are also present, including introduced species that build nests from mud or provision their young with caterpillars or spiders.

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