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The Wild Pest
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Wasps

Stinging strategists — solitary hunters and the social terror of summer picnics.

27 on file

On File
An Asian giant hornet (Vespa mandarinia) on a leaf, showing the distinctive orange-and-black thorax and large mandibles.
Apex Outlaw
Six Legs86
Alias
Vespa mandarinia

Asian Giant Hornet

Slaughters whole bee colonies in hours. Wears a sting that breaks down flesh.

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On File
A tarantula hawk wasp (Pepsis grossa) on a desert milkweed flower, iridescent blue-black with rust-orange wings.
Outlaw
Six Legs83
Alias
Pepsis grossa

Tarantula Hawk

Hunts tarantulas. Paralyzes them. Lays an egg inside the still-living body.

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On File
A common yellowjacket (Vespula vulgaris), yellow-and-black banded body with transparent wings.
Outlaw
Six Legs75
Alias
Vespula vulgaris

Common Yellowjacket

Stings you. Stings you again. Stings you a third time. Doesn't die.

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On File
A jewel cuckoo wasp (Chrysis ignita), brilliant iridescent metallic blue and green body.
Curious
Six Legs77
Alias
Chrysis ignita

Jewel Cuckoo Wasp

Living jewel — iridescent blue, green, gold. Sneaks into other wasps' nests. Curls into a ball when caught.

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On File
A female velvet ant (Dasymutilla occidentalis), fuzzy red-and-black wingless body that resembles a large ant.
Outlaw
Six Legs84
Alias
Dasymutilla occidentalis

Velvet Ant ('Cow Killer')

Not an ant. Wingless wasp. Sting painful enough to be called 'cow killer.' Indestructible armor.

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On File
An eastern cicada killer wasp (Sphecius speciosus), large yellow-and-black body with reddish thorax, transparent wings.
Curious
Six Legs71
Alias
Sphecius speciosus

Eastern Cicada Killer

5 cm wasp. Hunts cicadas. Drags 2× her body weight home. Almost never stings humans.

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On File
A black-and-yellow mud dauber wasp (Sceliphron caementarium), elongated black-and-yellow body, transparent wings.
Beneficial
Six Legs71
Alias
Sceliphron caementarium

Black & Yellow Mud Dauber

Builds mud nests on your wall. Stuffs each cell with paralyzed spiders. Doesn't sting people.

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On File
A European hornet (Vespa crabro), large brown-and-yellow social wasp with reddish thorax markings.
Outlaw
Six Legs75
Alias
Vespa crabro

European Hornet

Europe's largest social wasp. Hunts at night by lamplight. Less aggressive than her tiny cousins.

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On File
A European paper wasp (Polistes dominula), slender black-and-yellow body, on the edge of a small open-comb nest.
Outlaw
Six Legs72
Alias
Polistes dominula

European Paper Wasp

Invented paper before humans. Recognizes nestmates by face. Tense dominance hierarchies under your eaves.

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On File
An oak apple gall (induced by Amphibolips confluenta), large spongy 3-5 cm diameter spherical growth on an oak leaf with smooth tan-to-pinkish exterior, attached to oak twig.
Curious
Six Legs85
Alias
Amphibolips confluenta

Oak Apple Gall Wasp

Wasp HIJACKS oak DNA to grow GOLF-BALL-SIZED protective galls around her developing larvae.

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On File
An Asian hornet (Vespa velutina), large dark brown-and-black hornet with single yellow-orange abdominal band and bright yellow legs, six legs, side profile.
Outlaw
Six Legs89
Alias
Vespa velutina

Asian Hornet (Yellow-Legged Hornet)

Major invasive European pest. Hovers at beehives intercepting HONEY BEES — thousands of bees killed daily.

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On File
A potter wasp (Eumenes fraternus) and her urn-shaped mud nest, slender black wasp with bright yellow bands constructing a perfectly symmetrical mud pot the size of a small acorn attached to a twig.
Beneficial
Six Legs78
Alias
Eumenes fraternus

Potter Wasp (Mason Wasp)

Constructs MINIATURE URN-SHAPED MUD POTS — perfect symmetrical pottery vessels for single-caterpillar provisions.

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On File
A Trichogramma wasp (Trichogramma pretiosum), tiny yellow-orange parasitoid wasp with large red compound eyes and short clubbed antennae, smaller than a grain of sand, top view.
Beneficial
Six Legs82
Alias
Trichogramma pretiosum

Trichogramma Wasp

TINY parasitoid wasp (0.3 mm). BILLIONS commercially mass-reared per year for agricultural pest control.

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On File
A European pine sawfly (Diprion pini), stout broad sawfly without the narrow wasp waist of stinging Hymenoptera, six legs, side profile.
Outlaw
Six Legs80
Alias
Diprion pini

European Pine Sawfly

Major European pine forest pest. Larvae perform synchronous 'whip' defensive displays with toxic resin droplets.

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On File
A wheat stem sawfly (Cephus cinctus), small black sawfly with bright yellow abdominal bands looking like a small wasp, six legs, side profile.
Outlaw
Six Legs81
Alias
Cephus cinctus

Wheat Stem Sawfly

Major NA spring wheat pest. Larva chews stem from inside, causing wheat to LODGE before harvest.

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On File
A female Sirex woodwasp (Sirex noctilio), large dark blue-black solitary wasp with metallic sheen, smoky brown wings, and prominent cylindrical ovipositor at the rear, six legs, side profile.
Outlaw
Six Legs89
Alias
Sirex noctilio

Sirex Woodwasp

Injects FUNGAL SPORES into pine trees with eggs. Fungus digests wood for the larva. Major invasive pine pest globally.

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On File
A European beewolf (Philanthus triangulum), yellow-and-black banded solitary digger wasp resembling a small yellowjacket, six legs, side profile.
Outlaw
Six Legs85
Alias
Philanthus triangulum

European Beewolf

Solitary wasp that EXCLUSIVELY hunts HONEY BEES. Cultivates antibiotic-producing bacteria in antennal glands.

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On File
A great black wasp (Sphex pensylvanicus), large jet-black solitary wasp with smoky blue-black iridescent wings, six legs, side profile.
Beneficial
Six Legs79
Alias
Sphex pensylvanicus

Great Black Wasp

35 mm jet-black solitary wasp. Paralyzes katydids alive. Famous in philosophy of mind ('Sphexishness').

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On File
A German yellowjacket (Vespula germanica), bright yellow-and-black-banded social wasp with transparent wings, six legs, side profile.
Outlaw
Six Legs78
Alias
Vespula germanica

German Yellowjacket

Most cosmopolitan invasive yellowjacket. NZ has 10x more biomass than native pollinators. 5,000-worker colonies.

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On File
A birch sawfly (Cimbex femoratus), large dark sawfly with broad body and translucent veined wings, six legs.
Curious
Six Legs78
Alias
Cimbex femoratus

Birch Sawfly

Most ancient Hymenoptera lineage. 'Saw' ovipositor cuts plant slits for eggs. Larva shoots wax.

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On File
An emerald cockroach wasp (Ampulex compressa), brilliant metallic emerald-green body with bright orange thighs, transparent wings, six legs, side profile.
Curious
Six Legs89
Alias
Ampulex compressa

Emerald Cockroach Wasp (Jewel Wasp)

Stings the cockroach's BRAIN. Cockroach becomes zombie. Wasp leads her by the antenna into the grave.

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On File
A Mexican honey wasp (Brachygastra mellifica), small dark brown-and-yellow social wasp with rounded abdomen, six legs, side profile.
Curious
Six Legs89
Alias
Brachygastra mellifica

Mexican Honey Wasp

Wasp that makes honey. Centuries-old delicacy in Mexico. Pollinator AND predator AND honey producer.

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On File
A bald-faced hornet (Dolichovespula maculata), large black-bodied wasp with bright white facial markings and white bands on the abdomen.
Outlaw
Six Legs80
Alias
Dolichovespula maculata

Bald-Faced Hornet

Builds basketball-sized paper nests in trees. Sprays venom at your eyes. Not actually a hornet.

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On File
A fairyfly (Dicopomorpha echmepterygis), microscopic specimen photo of a tiny pale wasp with feathered wings, magnified.
Curious
Six Legs86
Alias
Dicopomorpha echmepterygis

Fairyfly

Smallest insect on Earth. 0.139 mm. Smaller than a single Paramecium. Fully functional brain.

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On File
A fig wasp (Blastophaga psenes), tiny black wasp on a fig fruit, magnified specimen on cream backdrop.
Curious
Six Legs85
Alias
Blastophaga psenes

Fig Wasp

Each fig species has ONE specific wasp. She enters, loses her wings, lays eggs, dies inside. 80 million years.

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On File
A giant ichneumon wasp (Megarhyssa macrurus), slender black-and-yellow body with extraordinarily long thread-like ovipositor extending from the rear.
Curious
Six Legs84
Alias
Megarhyssa macrurus

Giant Ichneumon Wasp

Drills 12 cm into wood with her abdomen to lay an egg on a wasp larva. Larva eats it alive. Darwin's parable.

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On File
A tarantula hawk wasp (Pepsis grossa), large metallic blue-black body with bright orange wings folded back, six dark legs.
Outlaw
Six Legs87
Alias
Pepsis grossa

Spider Wasp

Hunts tarantulas. Paralyzes them. Drags them home for one egg. Sting rated 4.0 — the worst.

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