Ressurecting the Rainbow, Pt. 6 - _TNY_4819
After having dinner in the greenhouse at my mother-in-law's, I noticed an emerald wasp (aka cuckoo wasp) on the white wood between the windows.
Normally, when I stick my camera in their face they get moving, but not this one. He/she was literally dead tired after trying to get out of the hot greenhouse though the windows all afternoon.
After snapping this photo: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/53034793528/, I tried moving it, but it just fell down on the window sill - crumbled up and looking dead.
I eventually managed to get it off there (my MIL's large tomato plants in the way) and took a shot of it in my hand before dropping it onto the table here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/53571746819/
Then my mother-in-law came in with an assist and gave me a cup with a little sugar water to attempt to get the wasp up and running again.
At first, I put a drop of sugar water in front of it and moved it to it, but didn't get a reaction. Legs were still folded in under it and the antennae flat against the body.
After a little while with no improvement, I picked it up by the ends of the wings and literally stuck most of its head into the sugar water (as pictured here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/53065396272/ and here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/55063981508/) - Still not much of a reaction, but a foot began twitching!
Eventually a whole leg began to move, but not much else and I was pretty much giving up at this point - but I left it on/in the sugar water.
Finally, after fifteen minutes in the sugar, I decided this wasn't working and pulled it out - but it did! the tiny wasp began fluttering its wings a bit and actually walking around!
After the mandatory antennae grooming, it walked up onto my finger (www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/53498042956/) and I went outside and placed it on top of the bee hotel in the garden, looking just as speedy as it should: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/53429153570/
The species is called Chrysis equestris and doesn't have a common English name, but the Swedish one, "regnbågsguldstekel", meaning rainbow emerald wasp seems quite fitting, right?
Ressurecting the Rainbow, Pt. 6 - _TNY_4819
After having dinner in the greenhouse at my mother-in-law's, I noticed an emerald wasp (aka cuckoo wasp) on the white wood between the windows.
Normally, when I stick my camera in their face they get moving, but not this one. He/she was literally dead tired after trying to get out of the hot greenhouse though the windows all afternoon.
After snapping this photo: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/53034793528/, I tried moving it, but it just fell down on the window sill - crumbled up and looking dead.
I eventually managed to get it off there (my MIL's large tomato plants in the way) and took a shot of it in my hand before dropping it onto the table here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/53571746819/
Then my mother-in-law came in with an assist and gave me a cup with a little sugar water to attempt to get the wasp up and running again.
At first, I put a drop of sugar water in front of it and moved it to it, but didn't get a reaction. Legs were still folded in under it and the antennae flat against the body.
After a little while with no improvement, I picked it up by the ends of the wings and literally stuck most of its head into the sugar water (as pictured here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/53065396272/ and here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/55063981508/) - Still not much of a reaction, but a foot began twitching!
Eventually a whole leg began to move, but not much else and I was pretty much giving up at this point - but I left it on/in the sugar water.
Finally, after fifteen minutes in the sugar, I decided this wasn't working and pulled it out - but it did! the tiny wasp began fluttering its wings a bit and actually walking around!
After the mandatory antennae grooming, it walked up onto my finger (www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/53498042956/) and I went outside and placed it on top of the bee hotel in the garden, looking just as speedy as it should: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/53429153570/
The species is called Chrysis equestris and doesn't have a common English name, but the Swedish one, "regnbågsguldstekel", meaning rainbow emerald wasp seems quite fitting, right?