Scoliid Wasp --- Eastern Spain.

[Gottshotz]

Scoliid wasps are huge ( up to 3 inches long ), but don't sting humans --- rather they are beetle hunters, and the female wasp will dig in the earth looking for a beetle grub -- she paralyses it ( by stinging it ) and then injects an egg into it. Thus the wasp larva will have a ready source of fresh meat to get it through to its adult stage. The adult wasps love to grab the nectar from Cardoons like the one in this photo (Cardoons look like outsize thistles, growing up to 6 feet tall they belong to the Artichoke family ) . The Cardoon also benefits as the wasps get covered in pollen grains, so assisting the plants in cross pollination when the wasp flies off to raid the next Cardoon flower !

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This was taken on a windy day with D850 and 400mm f2.8 on tripod, ISO 160, 1/2000 Sec..

 

[Tadzio]

Very beautiful capture, David

 

[Gottshotz]

Very beautiful capture, David

Thanks Tadzio, photographing insects on these tall cardoon flower heads are relatively easy as you're working at the same height -- ie eye level.

 

[Icarus]

Wonderful image. Love the complementary colors between yellow on wasp and purple of the flower. Seems like lots of insects lay their eggs in a paraylized prey so the
kid will have something to eat. Kind of gruesome.

 

[Robin]

Lovely shot, Gottashotz Known in UK as Mammoth Wasps although they are not recorded here.
Saw my first 2 years ago and it was huge and amazing.

 

[Promapper]

great capture. The plant resembles our tall iron weed in Tennessee

 

[Gottshotz]

Wonderful image. Love the complementary colors between yellow on wasp and purple of the flower. Seems like lots of insects lay their eggs in a paraylized prey so the
kid will have something to eat. Kind of gruesome.

Thanks Icarus, yes this form of "baby care" is more common than you think in the insect world --- a more evolved and targeted strategy which saves producing masses of eggs in the hope that a few will survive predation.

 

[Gottshotz]

Lovely shot, Gottashotz Known in UK as Mammoth Wasps although they are not recorded here.
Saw my first 2 years ago and it was huge and amazing.

Thanks Robin, haven't seen them myself in Ireland but we do get a lot of them at our Spanish house in June .

 

[Gottshotz]

great capture. The plant resembles our tall iron weed in Tennessee

Thanks Greg, over in Spain the locals collect the young leaves of this Cardoon and make a delicious soup out of them.

 

[Icarus]

Thanks Icarus, yes this form of "baby care" is more common than you think in the insect world --- a more evolved and targeted strategy which saves producing masses of eggs in the hope that a few will survive predation.

And you don't have to sit around and protect those eggs.

 

[Gottshotz]

And you don't have to sit around and protect those eggs.

Exactly -- Its a win /win for the wasp !

 

[Andrew Lamberson]

Excellent! I wish winter was over!

 

[Gottshotz]

Excellent! I wish winter was over!

Thanks Andrew --- yeah, hopefully we might be able to enjoy summer this year thanks to the vaccine --- fingers crossed.