Tiny Wasp / Termite?

Bengal21

Arachnopeon
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Nov 4, 2010
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I have found a few tiny flying insects in one of my large Regalis cages. They have wings, fly, look almost like a small wasp. They are between .5 and 1.0 centimeters long. One seemed to be striped and colored like a zebra. There doesn't seem to be any noticeable infection or presence on the T itself. I'll try to capture one and get a pic up when I see another. Any idea what this is?
 
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shanebp

Arachnobaron
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Dec 14, 2009
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Your best bet would be to try and capture a picture so as somebody could see it and then maybe be able to tell you what it is.
 

codykrr

Arachnoking
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Sep 22, 2008
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sounds like either an ant, or termite.

We would need a picture to get a better idea of what it is.

But my first question is...

Do you have any wood collected from outside in its enclosure?
 

codykrr

Arachnoking
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^ not at all. Phorid flies dont look like wasps....
 

codykrr

Arachnoking
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if they look like this or even similar. My bet is termites.

picture of termits here

if they look like this then they are most likely ants.

winged ant picture here

here is a side by side comparison of the two

click here for side by side comparison

Chris, these are phorid flies. They in no way shape or form even resemble a "wasp"

phorid fly picture here

Like I said, if you brought in wood collected from outdoors, then really it could be termits. But there is a chance it is ants as well. either way if you do have wood in the enclosure from outside I would remove it and bake it at 200F for about an hour to kill any larvae or eggs that could remain.

---------- Post added at 03:37 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:36 PM ----------

I have bark from various trees but it was all oven baked.
maybe bake them a little longer. Also there could be the possibility that your house itself is infested.
 

Chris_Skeleton

Arachnoprince
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I think I'm getting my flies mixed up. I had some kind of flies in my A. avic enclosure once that were small and had the striping on them.
 

Bengal21

Arachnopeon
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Nov 4, 2010
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Here are some pictures of one I caught. I haven't seen any in almost a week now though. Also I know it's not the house that's infested. I have only seen about 6 of these and they were all in the same cage. They are too big to enter / escape the cage so they must be from within it. They are tiny. From head to abdomen tip, they are no larger than a dime.



 

codykrr

Arachnoking
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hmm...I have no clue. Isnt a termite or ant. could actually be a wasp.
 

Joanie

Arachnoknight
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Nov 4, 2002
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205
That's a beetle, it's called a Cylindrical Hardwood Borer, Neoclytus acuminatus. It had to have come in on some sort of wood. They shouldn't cause any problems for the tarantulas, though, they eat wood.
 
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