I was taking pictures of my black-eyed Susans when I spotted this huge black wasp, busily sipping nectar from the last of the veronica blooms. This thing is about as long as my thumb!
Now I’m used to seeing the Cicada wasps flying around (unnerving as they are while they buzz around you if you get too close to their burrow), but since I’ve never seen this one, I did a little bit of research.
It is actually called a Great Black Wasp. I’d say the name fits, don’t you agree?
It’s also known as a Katydid Hunter or a Steel Blue Cricket Hunter.  Just as the cicada wasps hunt cicadas, the Great Black Wasp hunts katydids and crickets, burying the paralyzed insects in the ground with their eggs.
Interestingly though, the adults only eat nectar.