Latest Wasp Stories
Two to three millimeters long, the parasitoid wasp Habrobracon hebetor is a top candidate for use in programs to biologically control Indianmeal moths and other stored-product pests. But despite the prospects for reduced insecticide use and product losses, the approach has yet to gain traction commercially, in part because of the lack of an efficient method of stockpiling the wasp. But a team of scientists, including researchers from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), is working on...
Lee Rannals for redOrbit.com - Your Universe Online Even Australia's most common dangerous spider is no match for a nearly forgotten 200 year old flying insect, according to recent findings. The wasp, Agenioideus nigricornis, was first discovered in 1775 by Danish etymologist Johan Christian Fabricius. Recently, researchers from the University of Adelaide said the small wasp is a predator of the redback spider. "Since then, scientists have largely forgotten about the wasp," said...
Two parasitic wasp species show similar memory consolidation patterns in response to rewards of different quality, providing evidence that the reward value affects the type of memory that is consolidated. The full results are reported Aug. 22 in the open access journal PLOS ONE. The researchers, led by Marjolein Kruidhof of the Netherlands Institute of Ecology, tested how wasps store scents associated with situations of low reward (egg-laying into a inferior-quality host species that lays...
European paper wasps (Polistes dominula) advertise the size of their poison glands to potential predators, finds a new study published in BioMed Central's open access journal Frontiers in Zoology. The brighter the color, the larger the poison gland. Aposematism is used by many different animals to warn potential predators that they are poisonous. Usually this takes the form of distinctive coloration or patterns which predators quickly learn to avoid. Paper wasps have conspicuous yellow and...
RESCUE! ® W•H•Y® Trap is the safe, effective and environmentally friendly solution to lure and trap wasps, hornets and yellowjackets Spokane, WA (PRWEB) August 07, 2012 The unusually hot and dry weather throughout the nation is creating a bumper crop of stinging wasps, hornets and yellowjackets. These aggressive insects are busy building colonies, searching for sugary sodas and bombarding backyard barbecues. Experts say now is the time to capture the workers before their...
ATLANTA, June 18, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The first day of summer brings warmer temperatures and more time outdoors; unfortunately, that also means you are more likely to get stung by fire ants, bees and wasps and bitten by mosquitoes. As you barbecue with friends or work in your garden, watch out for the following insects that can spoil your outdoor fun. Mosquitoes"While fire ants, bees and wasps are dangerous because of their stings, the number one pest to look out for this summer is...
SAN MATEO, Calif., April 25, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Avengers assemble in the latest update to the free-to-play massively multiplayer Marvel kids game Super Hero Squad Online from Gazillion Entertainment and Marvel Entertainment. Kids of all ages can now hero up their squads with Hero costumes and characters directly from the upcoming theatrical launch of "Marvel's The Avengers"! (Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120208/SF48178) Marvel Super Hero Squad Online unleashes...
Brett Smith for RedOrbit.com Discovery of a new giant wasp species last year has led to the discovery of an even larger species than had been sitting in a collection for 80 years. Megalara garuda hails from the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, the same island where a team led by professor Lynn Kimsey (UC Davis) discovered the wasp’s slightly smaller relative Dalara garuda. Both species belong to the digger wasp family, a diverse group of wasps that sting and paralyze prey insects....
Mimicry in the animal kingdom is a useful tool that many insects employ to make themselves appear more fierce in order to escape from becoming a meal. However, researchers have been puzzled as to how some of the worst mimickers still seem to escape certain demise. Researchers at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada set out to find the nature of mimicry in one of these imperfect impersonators: the hoverfly. Some hoverflies have evolved to be nearly indistinguishable from bees and wasps,...
The long-term impact of climate change on natural communities of wild animals could be better understood thanks to a new study The long-term impact of climate change on natural communities of wild animals could be better understood thanks to a new study. The research will help predict how migration of animals or changes to their habitats associated with climate change could impact on the evolution of relationships between predators and their prey. Scientists have shed light on how...
Latest Wasp Reference Libraries
Image Caption: House Centipede, Scutigera coleoptrata. Credit: Bruce Marlin/Wikipedia (CC BY 3.0) Scutigera coleoptrata is one of many species of house centipedes. This species is native to the Mediterranean, but it is capable of moving to other region of the world including most of Europe, South America, North America, and Asia. It is thought to have first ventured from its native range into Mexico and Guatemala, and its range has now stretched into Argentina in the south and Canada in...
The European Bee-eater (Merops apiaster) is a species of bird in the bee-eater family Meropidae. It is found in southern Europe and in parts of north Africa and western Asia. It is highly migratory and winters in tropical Africa, India and Sri Lanka. It is an occasional visitor north of its range and some individuals may breed in northwest Europe. It is a richly colored and slender bird, like other bee-eaters. It has brown and yellow upperparts, green wings and a black beak. It is 10.5 to...
The Red-bearded Bee-eater (Nyctyornis amictus) is a species of bird found in the Indo-Malayan subregion of South-east Asia. Its natural habitat is open patches of dense forest. It nests in burrows tunneled into the side of sandy banks. It does not form colonies. Like other bee-eaters, the Red-bearded Bee-eater is colorful and has a long tail. Its beak is curved downward and it has pointed wings. It is mostly green, with red coloration to the face that extends on to the throat feathers...
Spider wasps, also called pompilid wasps or spider-hunting wasps, are insects belonging to a diverse family named Pompilidae, of the order Hymenoptera. Spider wasps are sometimes distinct from other wasps in features such as eye structure (no notch as in Family Vespidae), legs modified for grooming, and in having a groove dividing the mesopleuron (a region of the thorax) into halves. Larvae can also be identified by physical examination. Females are often larger than the males, with...
Carpenter bees (Xylocopinae subfamily) are considered to be important pollinators, especially of open-faced flowers, though they are also known to "rob" nectar by boring holes in the sides of flowers with deep corollas (thus not accomplishing pollination). The smaller species tunnel into pithy stems to build their nests. Other species bore holes in wood and can become pests in wood construction. Carpenter bees are often mistaken for bumblebees. They are similar in size and coloring. The...
