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The Wasp Parasite, Pt. 2 - _TNY_8149

I walked past a shrubby cinquefoil (Dasiphora fruticosa) near our house and looked to see if there were any neat insects on the flowers and found this one.

 

It's a female lesser hornet hoverfly (Volucella inanis), on of Sweden's largest hoverflies with a wingspan of around 30 mm.

 

These guys parasitize on wasps and hornets and lay their eggs in the nests of various wasp species where their larvae feed on waste from the wasps as well as actual wasp larvae.

 

Part 1 here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/50297981673/

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Uploaded on April 21, 2022
Taken on September 1, 2020