Neat wasps

stevetastic

Arachnodemon
Old Timer
Joined
Jul 29, 2008
Messages
670
I am not a fan of bees or wasps by any means. They are the only thing that make me scream like a girl and run away... which looks funny because I'm 6'5''. Since my wife and I moved to Alabama however, I have started to notice the all the unique wasps and have overcome my fears a bit and started photographing them. They are actually pretty neat looking when they aren't swarming you...








Our property has at least 6 other species of wasp on it so I will probably try to get more pictures.
 

stevetastic

Arachnodemon
Old Timer
Joined
Jul 29, 2008
Messages
670
1 Some kind of paper wasp (can't tell but it had a yellow face)
2 Digger Wasp Scolia dubia
3 Digger Wasp Scolia dubia
4 Velvet Ant I think Dasymutilla occidentalis
5 Another kind of paper wasp (very similar to #1 but no yellow face)
 

Vulgaris

Arachnosquire
Old Timer
Joined
Sep 28, 2008
Messages
137
First image is a male Polistes metricus

Second and third are Scolia dubia

Last image is a female Polistes metricus
 

zonbonzovi

Creeping beneath you
Old Timer
Joined
Oct 20, 2008
Messages
3,346
Nice pix, 'tastic. That Scolia dubia is interesting...I was thinking male velvet ant upon seeing it, but it's easy to get diggers and male velvets confused, for me anyway.
 

stevetastic

Arachnodemon
Old Timer
Joined
Jul 29, 2008
Messages
670
Nice pix, 'tastic. That Scolia dubia is interesting...I was thinking male velvet ant upon seeing it, but it's easy to get diggers and male velvets confused, for me anyway.
Those we the first ones I had ever seen and my first thought was velvet ant too because of the "hairiness." Thank goodness for bug guide! I have to admit the S. dubia are pretty neat as far as wasps go. The yellow spots remind me of glow spot roaches.

I have yet to see a male velvet ant. We have about half a dozen females in our yard everyday so I'm sure the males will be around at some point.
 

Travis K

TravIsGinger
Old Timer
Joined
Jan 6, 2007
Messages
2,518
red one is a cowkiller. Family Mutillidae
I picked one of those up when I was 14 or 15 years old in Tennessee, that is when I figure out that it was not a big fuzzy ant but some kind of flightless wasp. Gotta love velvet ants. I would love to have this species if not for the shear beauty of them but for sentimental reasons as well. That was the MOST painful sting I have ever had.

Cheers,
 

ZergFront

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
May 2, 2009
Messages
1,956
Wow, those are very neat. I wish I had velvet ants around here. I never see any, but yet I had caught two jumping spiders that were cow killer mimics. :?

I like the other wasps in the pics, too. Biggest I've seen were the iridescent blue ones. I have no idea what kind they are.
 

possumburg

Arachnosquire
Joined
Aug 8, 2010
Messages
95
Nice pics! I just caught a Cow Ant as we call em and photographed it yesterday. Very pretty, but very very painful if you get stung lol.
 

kripp_keeper

Arachnoknight
Old Timer
Joined
May 18, 2009
Messages
241
I picked one of those up when I was 14 or 15 years old in Tennessee, that is when I figure out that it was not a big fuzzy ant but some kind of flightless wasp. Gotta love velvet ants. I would love to have this species if not for the shear beauty of them but for sentimental reasons as well. That was the MOST painful sting I have ever had.

Cheers,
Ah yes the days of realizing velvet ants are wasp. When I was around 6-8 I tried to pick one up. I figured if I used a big leaf surely the "ant" would not be able to sting through it. I was wrong, they can sting through leaves very well.
 
Top