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.

From Literature

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?

From New York Times

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.

From New York Times

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

From Scientific American

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

From Time Magazine Archive