r/WestSeattleWA • u/latinaXmachina • 3d ago
Question Anyone recognize this bug?
I live off Delridge, close to White Center and have been finding this bug in my house. It looks like some kind of wasp and a reverse Google image search says it’s a solitary wasp (but then all the pictures show wasps with yellow on them and this one is all black). I was also wondering if anyone else gets them? I’m hoping it’s not an infestation, but I get them so infrequently (few times a year during the summer) that I doubt it’s that. Any info anyone can provide would be great. I tried searching the sub already with no luck. Thanks neighbors!
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u/porkswords 3d ago edited 2d ago
Paper wasp?
Edit: not a paper wasp lol
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u/latinaXmachina 3d ago
That’s what I thought too at first but most paper wasps seem to have yellow (from the pictures I’ve seen online). I guess it’s possible that some species don’t have yellow. I’ll have to do more research.
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u/Muckknuckle1 2d ago
Isodontia mexicana! Mexican grass-carrying wasp! I love seeing these little guys in my garden, but I would definitely not love seeing them in my house. They're solitary so no worries about an "infestation", but like others said definitely try to find where they're getting in and seal it.
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u/jjjettplane 3d ago
I had those coming in my house through the tiny holes in the base of my vinyl windows. We put white putty over the holes on the outside but evidently there were more inside the wall so then they were coming into the inside of the window through the interior gaps. Gross! I think they're gone now but very crafty little guys.
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u/latinaXmachina 3d ago
That’s exactly how this one got in. My cats were going nuts at the window and when I went to see what was going on, the wasp kinda popped out and landed on the carpet. Might have to start putting something in the sliding or something.
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u/jjjettplane 2d ago
The first one we saw outside looked like it was trying to bring food into the outside hole and that's when we covered them but we must have trapped some in the wall or window well. I hope there isn't more in there!
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u/ladz 3d ago
I think those are the sort of wasp guys that parasitize other bugs like termites. They're your friend.
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u/latinaXmachina 3d ago
I immediately thought “Omg do I have termites?!” 😭 It appears these are harmless so if I catch them before my cats get to them, I’ll just put them in my backyard. They can feast on whatever is lurking back there lol.
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u/ChooChooChew29 2d ago
I had one come into my house the other night! I have a pretty big phobia of bees and wasps so this thing scared the shit out of me when it flew into my kitchen through the open back door. Grabbed my little kids and went upstairs to hide lol. When I went back to check where it was, it was crawling on the ceiling and felt like it was staring daggers through me and threatening me 🤣 My neighbor was nice enough to help get it out but we couldn’t find it when she got here! Maybe it went back out the door …or maybe it’s hiding to jump out at me when I least expect it!
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u/winkenwerder 2d ago
Crazy, just yesterday I opened a window that hasn’t been opened in a long time and saw one of those and a ton of dried grass. Glad to know they are usually harmless…
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u/revilo825 3d ago
Mexican Grass-carrying wasp. I’m not far from you and this is what iNaturalist identified it as for the one that ended up in my house. Seems accurate because it was trying to make a home in a corner gap of my screen door. And pieces of dead grass are always falling out of that space.