Sphex
| Sphex | |
|---|---|
| Sphex pensylvanicus on a katydid | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Superfamily: | Apoidea |
| Family: | Sphecidae |
| Subfamily: | Sphecinae |
| Tribe: | Sphecini |
| Genus: | Sphex Linnaeus, 1758 |
| Type species | |
| Sphex flavipennis Fabricius, 1793
| |
| Species | |
|
More than 130; see text | |
Sphex is a genus of cosmopolitan wasp that sting and paralyze prey insects. Sphex is one of many genera in the old digger wasp family Sphecidae (sensu lato), though most apart from the Sphecinae have now been moved to the family Crabronidae. There are over 130 known Sphex species.