Game of Thrones Daily
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Today's Document
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@waspdaily
Today's wasp of the day is Vanhornia eucnemidarum!
Credits: photo 1, photo 2
Wasps of the family Vanhorniidae are rare with currently only 4 known species scattered all across the world. If you want to meet this cryptid for yourself, a good place to check would be near/on dead or dying maple trees as they are parasitoids of the false click beetles (Eucnemidae) that make the rotting wood their home.
Today's wasp of the day is the eight spotted scoliid wasp (Colpa octomaculata)!
Credits: photo 1, photo 2
Not to be confused with the six spotted scoliid— count the spots! Though these spots are only on the females, while the males have stripes. There are 4 recognized subspecies of this wasp, distinguishable based on subtle color variations and location. I would normally list those distinctive traits for each subspecies, however I wasn't able to find info on all of them so just accept that some have more red than others.
I like it when wasps use their lil arms to hold flowers close to their face
Today's wasp of the day is the eight spotted scoliid wasp (Colpa octomaculata)!
Credits: photo 1, photo 2
Not to be confused with the six spotted scoliid— count the spots! Though these spots are only on the females, while the males have stripes. There are 4 recognized subspecies of this wasp, distinguishable based on subtle color variations and location. I would normally list those distinctive traits for each subspecies, however I wasn't able to find info on all of them so just accept that some have more red than others.
Today's wasp of the day is Cleptes semiauratus!
Credits: photo 1, photo 2, photo 3
Like an oil slick, this wasp changes colors at every shift of the light. The sexual dimorphism of this wasp is even color based: males are typically more of a deep blue or green while the females have a red base that shifts from gold and green to even flashes of purple. The rainbow of iridescence varies with each individual and some will even have spots of colors where they're lighter, darker, or less vibrant.
The wasp of many gender
Today's wasp of the day is Cleptes semiauratus!
Credits: photo 1, photo 2, photo 3
Like an oil slick, this wasp changes colors at every shift of the light. The sexual dimorphism of this wasp is even color based: males are typically more of a deep blue or green while the females have a red base that shifts from gold and green to even flashes of purple. The rainbow of iridescence varies with each individual and some will even have spots of colors where they're lighter, darker, or less vibrant.
Today's wasp of the day is Scirtetes robustus!
Credits: photo 1, photo 2
Also known as the jumping bean* ichneumon, because they, well, jump! After eating up all the goo of their host, the larval wasp makes a distinctive cocoon and has it dangle on a silk thread. Once it reaches a certain point of development, the pupating wasp within the cocoon starts thrashing to detach the cocoon from the silk thread. Upon dropping to the ground, the cocoon will continue to sproing around until it reaches a spot suitable for the young wasp to emerge.
*"jumping bean" can also refer to "Mexican jumping beans", which are seed pods inhabited by caterpillars of the moth Cydia saltitans. The larval moths cause the seed pod they live in to pop around in response to temperature to avoid getting cooked. This wasp does the same behavior, an interesting case of convergent evolution.
Bungee buggie baby
Today's wasp of the day is Scirtetes robustus!
Credits: photo 1, photo 2
Also known as the jumping bean* ichneumon, because they, well, jump! After eating up all the goo of their host, the larval wasp makes a distinctive cocoon and has it dangle on a silk thread. Once it reaches a certain point of development, the pupating wasp within the cocoon starts thrashing to detach the cocoon from the silk thread. Upon dropping to the ground, the cocoon will continue to sproing around until it reaches a spot suitable for the young wasp to emerge.
*"jumping bean" can also refer to "Mexican jumping beans", which are seed pods inhabited by caterpillars of the moth Cydia saltitans. The larval moths cause the seed pod they live in to pop around in response to temperature to avoid getting cooked. This wasp does the same behavior, an interesting case of convergent evolution.
Today's wasp of the day is Melittobia acasta!
Credits
These short-lived wrigglers are parasitoids of bees, wasps, and basically anything that also tries living in the nests of those bees and wasps. You can't be that picky when you only live for 25 days after all. What's most interesting about these seemingly simple wasps is that they exhibit primitive social structures with cooperation between multiple generations.
While these wasps can be quite a problem for commercial bees, their short lifespan and ease of rearing makes them a good subject for laboratory studies.
Only about 5% of Melittobia wasps are male and so they're fiercely competitive with each other. Like full on gladiator battles.
Today's wasp of the day is Calopompilus pyrrhomelas!
Credits: photo 1, photo 2
This wasp specializes in hunting trapdoor spiders, which is not an easy feat. And since trapdoor spiders do such a good job of having a secure little bunker, this wasp also makes use of that too. The wasp lures the spider towards the opening of its burrow, not far enough for the spider to pounce but enough for the wasp to drag it out for a quick paralyzing sting. She'll then drag the spider back into its own nest, lay an egg, seal everything up, and then leave to be on her way. Before documented observation of this behavior, it was believed that the wasp initially breaks into the spider's burrow and fights it within. Now we know that she knows how to use the terrain to her advantage to disorientate and overpower the spider.
Ding dong ditch but worse
Today's wasp of the day is Melittobia acasta!
Credits
These short-lived wrigglers are parasitoids of bees, wasps, and basically anything that also tries living in the nests of those bees and wasps. You can't be that picky when you only live for 25 days after all. What's most interesting about these seemingly simple wasps is that they exhibit primitive social structures with cooperation between multiple generations.
While these wasps can be quite a problem for commercial bees, their short lifespan and ease of rearing makes them a good subject for laboratory studies.
Today's wasp of the day is Calopompilus pyrrhomelas!
Credits: photo 1, photo 2
This wasp specializes in hunting trapdoor spiders, which is not an easy feat. And since trapdoor spiders do such a good job of having a secure little bunker, this wasp also makes use of that too. The wasp lures the spider towards the opening of its burrow, not far enough for the spider to pounce but enough for the wasp to drag it out for a quick paralyzing sting. She'll then drag the spider back into its own nest, lay an egg, seal everything up, and then leave to be on her way. Before documented observation of this behavior, it was believed that the wasp initially breaks into the spider's burrow and fights it within. Now we know that she knows how to use the terrain to her advantage to disorientate and overpower the spider.
Today's wasp of the day is Cratomus megacephala!
Credit's: photo 1, photo 2
"mega-cephala" means "big head" but what that leaves out is that said big head is also shaped like a human thyroid. And what benefit is there to having a bow tie shaped noggin? Well, it's theorized that those little nubbins are what help this wasp push their way through their cocoon (and host) when they're done with their pupa nap.
Built in fish eye lense
You might think Sweden, essentially the birthplace of modern taxonomy, would be one of the last places to find undescribed species, but nope! Many Ichneumonids remain unknown to science, and this might be one of them. It belongs to the genus Mesoleptidea, a genus of sawfly parasitoids. Females can be distinguished from the similar M. cingulata, a very common species in Sweden, by the two white spots above the eyes and the distinct dark markings on the sternites.
Males are much harder to distingush. The basally darkened pterostigma is the only consistent character I've identified.
Both specimens where collected in Northern Sweden in a malaise trap during a large scale insect inventory project.
Today's wasp of the day is Cratomus megacephala!
Credit's: photo 1, photo 2
"mega-cephala" means "big head" but what that leaves out is that said big head is also shaped like a human thyroid. And what benefit is there to having a bow tie shaped noggin? Well, it's theorized that those little nubbins are what help this wasp push their way through their cocoon (and host) when they're done with their pupa nap.
i was on the porch when this little fella crash landed down from the sky right a foot away from me. looked like it just caught something mealy! maybe it needed a breather (thorax was quite active). quite a gentle presence tbh. after about a minute of gathering itself it flew away much more gracefully. just wanted to share ^_^
I remember watching a wasp hunt some cabbage worms in my garden last year. The caterpillar was a pretty feisty one and gooed her so she spent a while cleaning up before packing up the meal-- but she couldn't carry all of it so after rolling up her first ball and flying off she came back a couple minutes later for the second, and this time her sister came too to help find more grubbies (though it did take her a while and I eventually had to offer her one on a stick right in front of her...).
It's hard work doing all those grocery trips, taking breaks and staying hydrated is important across all species!
Today's wasp of the day is Belonogaster lateritia!
Credits: photo 1, photo 2
Wasps and birds typically do not get along. There are many types of birds that specialize in eating wasps, and there's even a few wasps that have been known to eat small young birds too. And yet, there are rare cases where wasps and birds coexist.
Sociable weaver birds (Philetairus socius) are known for making massive multifamily nests, and sometimes they specifically choose to be neighbors with the nests of wasps such as B. lateritia. It's believed the small birds do this because less predators are willing to mess with the stinging wasps around. It's also been theorized that the wasps' nest building instincts also help maintain the birds' nests. For the wasps, they also benefit from the protection of being a part of a larger structure. The flies that are attracted to the birds' waste are also an easy food source for the wasps' young.
What a friendly neighborhood!
Today's wasp of the day is Belonogaster lateritia!
Credits: photo 1, photo 2
Wasps and birds typically do not get along. There are many types of birds that specialize in eating wasps, and there's even a few wasps that have been known to eat small young birds too. And yet, there are rare cases where wasps and birds coexist.
Sociable weaver birds (Philetairus socius) are known for making massive multifamily nests, and sometimes they specifically choose to be neighbors with the nests of wasps such as B. lateritia. It's believed the small birds do this because less predators are willing to mess with the stinging wasps around. It's also been theorized that the wasps' nest building instincts also help maintain the birds' nests. For the wasps, they also benefit from the protection of being a part of a larger structure. The flies that are attracted to the birds' waste are also an easy food source for the wasps' young.
