rss What kind of bee is this?
This picture was tooken in Russell Springs, Kentucky at our family cabin. And no one had seen this kind of bee there before, What kind is it? can someone tell us?
Thank you
Tina M. Huckaby
Hi Tina,
We contacted Eric Eaton who wrote back that this metallic wasp: “is actually a cuckoo wasp (Chrysididae), probably in the genus Chrysis. They do not sting, and in fact roll up in a ball as a defense if they are molested.”
Strange flying insect
Hi!
Your site is incredible, I’m enjoying it immensely. While I don’t normally have trouble identifying the bugs I find, this one’s really stumping me. It flew into my office here in Brisbane, Australia, and most closely resembles a wasp. It had large wasp-like mandibles, and held its wings like a wasp, but the colour was breathtaking. This irridescent green would turn blue depending on the light, and after taking several photos I let him go and it was like watching a sapphire soar into the sky. If you could help identify it I’d be very happy. I have images of more Australian insects here:
http://nfg.2y.net/system/gallery/index.php?list=7
Thanks,
Lawrence.
Hi Lawrence,
Your beauty is a Cuckoo Wasp, in the family Chrysididae. Cuckoo Wasps get their name because they parasitize the nests of other wasps and do not build their own nest.
Cuckoo Wasp
Timothy
Hi Timothy,
We wanted Eric Eaton to concisely clarify the difference between Cuckoo Wasps and Sweat Bees. Here is what he wrote: “Well, actually, this is a cuckoo wasp (Chrysididae). It IS hard to tell the difference:-) You might note how the abdominal segments are unequal in length in many of the chrysidids, and the sculpturing on the thorax is generally much more coarse than it is in metallic sweat bees. Further, you don’t often see chrysidids on flowers. The are more often around aphid colonies, and old barns and such. Hope that helps a little. Eric”
found this fly/wasp? in Oman
Tarik Al said
Hi Tariq,
This sure looks like a Cuckoo Wasp from the Family Chrysididae to us. These metallic blue or green wasps can roll into a ball by burying their head in the concave abdomen. It lays its eggs in the nests of bees and wasps, hence the name cuckoo.
Blue Wasp
Hello bugman, I took a pic of a blue wasp that was stuck in the window. Do you know what it is? I am from Vancouver Island, B.C., Canada.
Thanks
Kathy
Hi Kathy,
You have a beautiful Cuckoo Wasp, Family Chrysididae. These small wasps are usually metallic blue or green in color. They get their common name because, like the Cuckoo bird, the wasp is parasitic. According to Hogue “it lays its eggs in the nests of bees and other wasps. The larva kills the rightful occupant of the nest and develops on the provisions left in the cell by the nestbuilder.”
Update (07/29/2007) Believe you have a misidentification on a previous i.d.
Daniel: In looking for pictures of a cuckoo wasp (for which I have a nice pic I could send although you already have several), one of your identifications looks misidentified. If you look at the the pictures from Timothy and Tarik — which I believe you have identified correctly — you’ll see a generally rough looking ‘back’, and the thorax sections are not sharply separated. Also, the legs are skinny, the antennae are short, and the center of the abdomen is more bulbous than the rest. In contrast, if you look at the photo from Kathy, the back is smooth, the thorax is sharply segmented, the ‘thigh’ of the front leg is ‘muscular’ looking, the antennae are quite long, and the abdomen is fairly similar in thickness throughout its length. Not to mention that the overall color is more brilliantly blue, less green than the other photos. A check of other images on the internet shows a much closer resemblance to the blue wasp, “Aporus hirsutus”. The best example of this is found at: http://bugguide.net/node/view /31105/bgimage In particular, note the beefy upper front leg, long antennae, and other consistencies with Kathy’s image.
Oops! While I believe you still have a misidentification, another glance at the Blue Wasp photos show that this is not the correct i.d., either. I just noticed that there are two smaller photos below the larger one on the bugguide.net page, and the rear legs are cricket-like, which is clearly not the case in Kathy’s photo. I am now thinking that it at the least looks more like “Augochlorella striata” than something in the Chrysididae family. See: http://www.cedarcreek.umn.edu /insects/newslides/025066011001 apo.jpg But the smoother, more segmented back in Kathy’s photo doesn’t agree, along with the bluer color. So, I don’t think that it is any of the bugs you or I mentioned, and thus remains unidentified. Curious to hear your opinion.
Mark
I like This