Introduce this is a parasitic wasp from the Braconidae family. This particular wasp has characteristics that are very different from most other wasps, but its presence truly surprised me. In my entire life, I have only found this wasp twice, whether because its population has already declined or simply because my area is not its habitat. I managed to find this wasp on a Ketapang tree in front of my house. It came on its own, uninvited, and brought with it a thousand questions and a great deal of curiosity.
The first thing that really caught my attention about this wasp was its shape.
Take a look at some of the pictures below 👇.
At first glance, this wasp has a reddish-orange head with shiny black eyes, just like most other wasps in general. It has a slender abdomen that is black with a cream-colored pattern underneath, while its wings appear translucent brownish. In my opinion, the most interesting part is its four front legs, which are red and match the color of its head, while the two hind legs are black, matching the color of its abdomen.
However, the most striking feature is the elongated structure that resembles a thick tail at the back of its body. At first, I thought it was the stinger of this wasp, and it looked quite intimidating. However, after looking up a little information about this wasp, I discovered that it is actually an ovipositor.
I knew this was such an extraordinary discovery, so I wanted to capture this moment perfectly. At that moment, I immediately photographed this wasp using a macro lens, but photographing it was extremely difficult because this wasp kept moving. Since I was photographing it with a macro lens, I had to be very careful to maintain a safe distance from the wasp.
From a fairly close distance, we can clearly see every detail of this wasp. Now, take a look at its face. Doesn't this wasp look incredibly cute.?
Personally, I think this is a truly remarkable insect, but unfortunately, this wasp is already considered rare in my area, making it very difficult to find.
To get the perfect result, I also tried photographing this wasp from various angles, starting from the top, the side, and the bottom. I could see the uneasiness of this wasp as it kept trying to avoid my macro lens, but my main goal was not to hurt it, but rather to capture its beauty. All of these images were taken with great care and patience. “It was quite tiring to photograph it, but very satisfying when we saw the results.”
And these are the last two pictures I managed to take before this wasp flew away.
What still makes me curious about this wasp is: Where do they live.? What does their nest look like.? Do they live in colonies or are they solitary.? For those of you who know about this particular wasp, please tell me more about its characteristics in the comments section.
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