Slender Banded Wasp
Myzinum
Observed in the riparian corridor of Florida Canyon, Sta. Rita Mts., Arizona, USA. 30 July 2013. Visiting flowers of Desert Broom, Baccharis sarathroides.
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Tiphiid wasps very rarely sting and the males, like this one, are completely harmless. The yellow and black banding is a warning, as is the pseudo-stinger at the tip of the abdomen. The adults visit flowers feeding on nectar or pollen where for sure there are many other yellow and black hymenoptera that are fully capable of delivering a sting to attacking insectivores. The immature grubs develop as parasites within grubs of scarab beetles in the soil.