There are three yellow stripes on the abdomen with the anterior one being split or narrowed towards the centre and the others clearly unbroken.

[3] Nysson spinosus occurs widely in the Palearctic from Great Britain and Scandinavia east to the Pacific coast of Russia and Japan.

The eggs are laid in the burrows of A. mystaceus and A. fargei which the female detects by scent.

[1] In Europe this species is also known to occasionally use wasps of the genus Gorytes as hosts,[3] although this has not been recorded in Great Britain.

[5] The adults have been recorded nectaring on Apiaceae, Lotus corniculatus, Euphorbia amygdaloides, Knautia arvensis, Succisa pratensis and Jasione montana.