XL Ovipositor, Pt. 2 - _TNY_5941
My son has taken up an interest in assisting me in my photographic endeavours. We found this Gasteruption parasitoid wasp inside the glass in his grandmother's greenhouse and took it outside. It was obviously a bit tired from being stuck there so when Daniel offered it a wet finger it drank eagerly - and I took some shots.
I had the MP-E65mm on the camera at the moment so one of those shots with the bug in front of his out-of-focus face wouldn't work, but he coaxed me into making a run for it and fetch the more normal macro lens while he kept the wasp entertained.
This is a shot taken after the lens change and shows that very very long ovipositor well.
They use this one to drill their way into the nesting holes of solitary bees to lay their own eggs there so their offspring can parasitize on the bee's larvae.
This is obviously a female with that ovipositor and either a Gasteruption jaculator or G. caucasicum, but they only differ in one species having a couple of indentations in the neck and my shots don't offer conclusive evidence which of them it is.
Part 1 has my son's face as a background here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/50556464842/
More shots of the same wasp here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/50256033487/ (showing the wasp from the side)
and here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/50256033487/ (showing its (cute) face)
XL Ovipositor, Pt. 2 - _TNY_5941
My son has taken up an interest in assisting me in my photographic endeavours. We found this Gasteruption parasitoid wasp inside the glass in his grandmother's greenhouse and took it outside. It was obviously a bit tired from being stuck there so when Daniel offered it a wet finger it drank eagerly - and I took some shots.
I had the MP-E65mm on the camera at the moment so one of those shots with the bug in front of his out-of-focus face wouldn't work, but he coaxed me into making a run for it and fetch the more normal macro lens while he kept the wasp entertained.
This is a shot taken after the lens change and shows that very very long ovipositor well.
They use this one to drill their way into the nesting holes of solitary bees to lay their own eggs there so their offspring can parasitize on the bee's larvae.
This is obviously a female with that ovipositor and either a Gasteruption jaculator or G. caucasicum, but they only differ in one species having a couple of indentations in the neck and my shots don't offer conclusive evidence which of them it is.
Part 1 has my son's face as a background here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/50556464842/
More shots of the same wasp here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/50256033487/ (showing the wasp from the side)
and here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/50256033487/ (showing its (cute) face)