All the Colour - _TNY_4266
This little explosion of colour is a cuckoo wasp in the Chrysis ignita group. The Chrysis ignita species is known as the ruby-tailed wasp, but there are several extremely alike species and it isn't possible to tell which one from just this shot.
These guys typically parasitize mason bees and the colourful body is actually armoured and they have the ability to roll up into a little ball of colour to protect them from harm when infiltrating bee and wasp nests.
All the Colour - _TNY_4266
This little explosion of colour is a cuckoo wasp in the Chrysis ignita group. The Chrysis ignita species is known as the ruby-tailed wasp, but there are several extremely alike species and it isn't possible to tell which one from just this shot.
These guys typically parasitize mason bees and the colourful body is actually armoured and they have the ability to roll up into a little ball of colour to protect them from harm when infiltrating bee and wasp nests.