- Body length winged male 15mm, wingless female 10mm
- The winged male is black in colour with a broken white line on prothorax. The wingless female is dark brown in colours.
- The female wasps, as the male wasps, are feed on nectar and have to visit flowers. Wingless is a big disadvantage. Flower Wasps evolved a mating behaviour which the males help the females on feeding. Their mating time is very long. It is common to see a male Flower Wasp carrying a wingless female, with tail to tail attached, flying between flowers. The transportation is part of the mating procedures.
- Pictures taken on Dec 2009 in Anstead Forest.
- Reference:
- 1. Tachyphron aculeatus - - Insects of Townsville, Australia, Graeme Cocks, 2004.
- 2. Northern Territory Insects, A Comprehensive Guide CD - Graham Brown, 2009.
- 3. Tachyphron, a New Genus of Australian Thynninae (Hymenoptera: Tiphiidae) - G. R. BROWN, J. Aust. ent. SOC., 1995, 34: 241-246.
White-collared Flower Wasp - Tachyphron armidalensis
FAMILY TIPHIIDAE
This page contains pictures and information about White-collared Flower Wasps that we found in the Brisbane area, Queensland, Australia.
