anti-wasp sentiment is going to turn me into the joker. "oh i hate wasps >:(((((((( but i love bees!!!!!" L + ratio + bees are wasps + name more five species of bee + honeybees are an ecological nightmare even within their native range + the overwhelming majority of wasps are non-stinging parasitoids + the majority of insects might be non-stinging parasitoid wasps? any hymenopterologists/coleopterologists/biostatisticians know how realistic this paper is? (https://doi.org/10.1186/s12898-018-0176-x) + have you ever actually been stung by a wasp?
Drawing of the day: Megarhyssa greenei. Bonus mini collage of my favourite non-cartoon wasp drawings. I plan on adding more as I go along. For now, this is only a sample. Drawing wasps is keeping me sane during these dark times. Which one is your favourite?
[PHOTOS TAKEN: MARCH 30TH, 2024 | Image IDs: Four photos of a black, red, and white ichneumon wasp with translucent wings and and an ovipositor that's a bit longer than the rest of its body alongside similarly long antennae, standing on the white plastic siding of a building /End IDs.]
Girl why are you so ovipositor 👁️? But seriously, look at this beautiful little thing!!!
As every expecting mother knows, finding the perfect place to lay your eggs is of the utmost importance. That's why the long-tailed giant ichneumonid wasp has such a long ovipositor! This special organ is more than twice the wasp's body length, and is used to tunnel deep into decaying wood in order to deposit their egg on the body of their host species the pigeon horntail (Tremex columba).
(Image: A female long-tailed giant ichneumonid wasp (Megarhyssa macrurus) depositing her egg by Richard Orr)
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And these insects’ petiole (basically petiole = waist) reminded me of Vash… Actually, drawing this, I found even more similarities, like if wasps were a reference to his character design haha
Forska's an ichneumon wasp (xorides stigmapterus, specifically!) kicked out of their kingdom for being a weird little bad luck baby. Usually they get a little stabby over this. But less so as a little small wasp.
[VIDEO TAKEN: MARCH 8TH, 2024 | Video ID: A video of a black and yellow hover fly and a pair of black, orange, and white ichneumon wasps coming together to feed off the honeydew of a group of green and black aphids, appearing rather peaceful in the moment /End IDs.]
It seems that hover flies and their parasitoids (Diplazon laetatorius, known for parasitizing hover fly eggs and larvae) can agree on one thing; Aphid honeydew is tasty!
Wasps can't build webs-- that's why they get spiders to do it for them. Some ectoparasitoid wasps like Reclinervellus nielseni lay their eggs on unsuspecting Cyclosa orb weaver spiders; once hatched, the larva injects its host with a venom that changes the way it weaves its web! The strands used are thicker, tougher, and glow under ultraviolet light, traits thought to prevent superfluous insects from getting caught. Once the web is complete, the wasp larva eats the spider and uses the web as a base for its cocoon.
(Image: A Reclinervellus nielseni larva attatched to its host, Cyclosa argenteoalba, by Keizo Takasuka)
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[ID: A pixel drawing of a black ichneumon wasp on a green background. It has orange legs and a long ovipositor that continues off-screen. There's a white question mark in a speech bubble next to it.]