Thread-waisted Caterpillar Hunter - Ammophila sp.
FAMILY SPHECIDAE
This page contains pictures and information about Thread-waisted Caterpillar-hunter Wasps that we found in the Brisbane area, Queensland, Australia.
- Body length 30mm
- We found this wasp dancing on a tree trunk in Daisy Hills near Buhot Creek on Dec 2009. It disappeared after we took two pictures. We were not sure what it was doing. This wasp has extremely long thread-waist with black and orange-brown in colours.
- The wasps in Ammophylini are usually black/red or black/yellow in colours. They build ground burrows and provision with caterpillars.
- Reference:
- 1. Insects of Australia, CSIRO, Division of Entomology, Melbourne University Press, 2nd Edition 1991, pp 991.
- 2. What wasp is that? - An interactive identification guide to the Australasian families of Hymenoptera, 2007.
- 3. Northern Territory Insects, A Comprehensive Guide CD - Graham Brown, 2009.
