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Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Subfamily: Larrinae
Tribe: Larrini 
Subtribe: Tachytina
Genus: Tachysphex
Scientific name: Tachysphex nigerrimus
Common name: Black Cockroach Hunter

Tachysphex nigerrimus is a native hunting wasp found throughout New Zealand. The adults usually nest in the shingle and sand on the banks of streams and rivers high enough so the nests are not destroyed by floods. The females kill the small native cockroach ( Celatoblatta species) and then drags them back to her burrow to feed her larvae.

The photo below is of a Tachysphex nigerrimus killing a wasp. It was able to move around on the glass pane of a shed window while holding a struggling cockroachBlack Cockroach Hunter Tachysphex nigerrimus-1.JPG

Black Cockroach Hunter Tachysphex nigerrimus-2.JPG

Black Cockroach Hunter Tachysphex nigerrimus.JPG 

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