Hello Ben!
Welcome back to PDML! It's been a while since you last chimed in in
October.
Thank you, Ben and Alastair for the ultimate answer.
Yep, the picture in Wikipedia looks almost identical to mine.
I haven't seen cockroaches around for a while, but just last week I've
seen in the garage something that I now think might have been this wasp's
larva. I found this wasp yesterday morning inside the house, in the
utility room.
I caught him with a plastic tab (even before realizing it had wings, at
first, from far away, I thought it was a spider).
He was moving too fast, running out of focus too quickly.
I've tried to chill it down 2-3 times in the fridge, but it was going too
fast from a completely limp to the agile state.
So, I gave up and let it out outside of the house.
Igor
Hi Igor (and PDML),
This is an Ensign Wasp (Family: Evaniidae), probably in the genus Evania -
ID confirmed by my Hymenopterist colleague at the Natural History Museum.
More info here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evaniidae
All the best,
Ben
Alastair Robertson Fri, 10 Jul 2015 00:05:46 -0700 wrote:
actually it's an ensign wasp aka hatchet wasp and it's supposed to
look like that https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evaniidae
supposedly they eat cockroach eggs so useful to have around if you are
cockroach averse
Alastair
On Fri, 10 Jul 2015, Igor PDML-StR wrote:
Dan and Mark,
Thank you for your responses.
I knew that PDML has that collective intellect!
(Is that an A.I.?) ;-)
Mark, I think you were correct.
I think it is "mud dauber":
https://goo.gl/PI7Fnx
And it might be even an "organ-pipe mud dauber":
http://www.fcps.edu/islandcreekes/ecology/organ-pipe_mud_dauber.htm
Those photos show the same type of shape, - with a very thin "waist", and
thus it looks like a part of the abdomen is missing.
Igor
Mark C Wed, 08 Jul 2015 20:18:12 -0700 wrote:
That's odd looking - I am pretty sure it is a wasp - order hymenoptera (same
order as ants and bees). It looks to me like its abdomen is missing and it
bears the hind half of another individual's abdomen sticking into it's thorax
via a stinger - was it thrashing about as if it was wounded? Maybe it lost a
fight.
On Wed, 8 Jul 2015, Igor PDML-StR wrote:
I was trying to photograph this visitor, but it was tricky for a
combination of reasons, and after a few attempts (64 trigger actuations), I
gave up and returned to what I had to do.
However, I am still curious what this insect (I assume it is an insect) is.
So, I choose to "Ask the Audience".
Is it some type of a queen ant? http://42graphy.org/misc/_IR27045.jpg
Igor
--
PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List
PDML@pdml.net
http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow
the directions.
