Moments in nature are rarely planned and my #momentinnature for August was a chance encounter with a small bright green-blue bug that I mistook for a type of sweat bee. I must have seen this insect before because I always hoped to find such a bright small bee again. I rushed inside for my camera when I spotted this one on the back deck.
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| Cuckoo wasp checking extra-floral nectary on Chamaecrista |
It turns out that this is not a bee but rather a type of cuckoo wasp - one that does not provision a nest but instead lays its eggs in the larval chamber of other wasps. Where did I find it? Around the bee box that was being used by other small wasps to create their larval chambers!
There are several genera of green-blue cuckoo wasps in the family Chrysididae, but this one appears to be in either the genus Chrysis or Caenochrysis. As I was reading about them in my Wasps book, I realized that species of these two genera have specific hosts in the genus Trypoxylon which is a type of wasp that specializes on spiders. It is always amazing to learn about these so-very-specific relationships! Last year I happened to watch wasps build their nests in this box and bring small spiders for them.
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| Cuckoo wasp, photo enlarged |
How very serendipitous to find this wasp exactly where it is supposed to be - truly a wonderful moment in nature. Keep looking, nature is out there!
A beautiful creature. My dining room chairs are being covered in material the color on the wasp!
ReplyDeleteFascinating, as always; so appreciate how you capture these wonderful moments in nature. I have some ideas for future posts :) Would love to know more about usage and placement of your bee box & how you use Chamaecrista in your landscape. Thanks for all you do to champion native plants in such a lovely way.
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