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Eucharitid wasp

Eucharitidae

Photo by Sckel
Published on Project Noah
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-20.2764, -40.4228

Field Notes

Description:

I think this tiny wasp, with about 2 or 3mm, is a specialized Eucharitid wasp parasitoid of ants. I can find many wasp Eucharitid in leaves of weeds in the grass, where there are colonies of ants. I would like to get better pictures, but my camera is extremely limited for very small insects.

Reference Links:

Eucharitidae

Species ID Suggestions

Comments (4)
RiekoS
Beautiful series. Congratulations!
Sckel
John thanks again for your comment, always informative and educational. Thank you, Maria.
John La Salle
Sckel - what a fantastic little wasp. And you are indeed correct that it is a Eucharitidae. The biology of these is really cool. The female lays many eggs on plants around ant nests, and when the eggs hatch the wasp larvae try to grab on to a passing ant so that they are carried back to the nest where the developing ant larvae and pupae are. They then develop to adulthood by eating the immature ants!
Maria dB
I think these are marvelous close-up shots of this unusual wasp!
Photographed
PublishedMay 22, 2014

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