Saltmarsh vegetation.
I decided to briefly explore around the backyard (in case i didn’t have enough observations from Cleburne to break 1k self-observations for the UNT SER Spring 2024 semester project) when I found this fella!
I didn’t realize until I was reviewing my photos that it has a bunch of mites on its underside.
found walking around on a hardwood log at the edge of a suburban park in Queens. hardwood forest with lots of dead wood in immediate vicinity. norway maples, red oaks
This wasp (?) was visiting frequently to this egg cluster but I didn't notice any parasitism behaviour. In fact, next day wasp was still present and looked like its protecting the eggs. There were few small black ants coming close to eggs and this wasp will be actively chase them away.
Mixed hardwood/pine woodland.