Conservative estimates of hunting distance in Cerceris fumipennis Say (Hymenoptera: Crabronidae)

Plant host specificity of prey buprestid beetles was used to estimate the minimum distance of hunting flights by the solitary fossorial wasp, Cerceris fumipennis Say.  Plant hosts of the five beetle species investigated were each found at less than 200 meters from the wasp nesting area.  While these results indicate neither average nor maximal hunting range, they suggest a working hypothesis that foraging in close proximity to the nesting site may be the norm.