Sunday, 19 July 2015

New family - Cuckoo Wasps

I found a tiny insect that had expired in the house and couldn't find anything like it in my generalist insect books. With some help I understand it is a Cuckoo Wasp (the Chrysididae family)although I am not sure what species yet. They are mostly kleptoparisites laying eggs in their particular host's nests and then their larvae can feed on the host's eggs/larvae/foodstore. It has an iridescent metallic green abdomen - which made me think it was a beetle. The thorax however is a vivid violet blue and the head and wings made me think it was a fly. It is also tiny so the photo above is taken with my USB microscope.

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