Orange Spider Wasp - a photo on Flickriver

Orange Spider Wasp

Cryptocheilus bicolor (Heterodontonyx bicolor)
Family: Pompilidae
Order: Hymenoptera

Found on a Kunzea sp. shrub at the south end of the South Pacific Heathland Reserve in Ulladulla. There was a group of about 5 or 6 of these wasps feeding on the shrub. They were quite large; I'd estimate about 30mm or more.

This wasp is a predator of the huntsman spiders (family Sparassidae) and wolf spiders (Lycosidae). It stings the spider, paralysing it. The spider is then dragged to a burrow in the ground, dug by the female using shovel-like hairs on its front legs. She then lays an egg on the spider, before closing the nesting chamber at the end of the burrow. When the larva emerges from the egg it feeds on the spider before pupating in a thin silky cocoon in the cell. On emerging from the cocoon, the young wasp digs its way from the nesting chamber.

This species is generally not aggressive to humans, but if it does sting, the pain has been described as "shockingly powerful", and is one of the most potent stings in the insect world.

Ref:
www.abc.net.au/news/science/2022-12-27/australia-painful-...

DSC05872 copy

Taken on: November 8, 2024

Tags:

Cryptocheilus

bicolor

Pompilidae

Order:

Hymenoptera

Orange

Spider

Wasp « less

Sets appears in: • Hymenoptera - Wasps • Australian Insects more » • South Pacific Heathland Reserve - Ulladulla « less

Camera: Sony ILCE-7RM5, f/5.6, 1/250 sec, 376mm, ISO 100 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Sony ILCE-7RM5
Lens:	Sony FE 100-400mm F4.5-5.6 OSS
Aperture:	f/5.6
Exposure Time:	0.004 sec (1/250)
Focal Length:	376mm
ISO:	100
Exposure Bias:	+1 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Manual
Exposure Mode:	Manual
Metering Mode:	Center-weighted average
White Balance:	Manual
Light Source:	Daylight
Color Space:	Adobe RGB
Software:	ILCE-7RM5 v1.00
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