![]() A long, thin appendage may sometimes be seen extending from the tip of the female abdomen. ![]() These adaptations account for cuckoo wasps’ distinctive form: the thorax often having cavities for the reception of legs and the abdomen being flat or hollow on the underside and covered above with three convex plates, the third plate commonly bearing teeth on its hind margin.įemale cuckoo wasps are widely believed to be unable to sting, the sting apparatus being reduced and supposedly non-functional, yet cases are known where people have received painful stings from larger species. They are more correctly termed ‘parasitoids’ when they feed on and kill the host larvae or ‘cleptoparasites’ (“clepto“ deriving from a Greek word meaning ‘thief’) when they feed on the host’s provisions.īecause their hosts possess stings and biting mandibles, cuckoo wasps have evolved some defences, namely a thick integument and an ability to roll their body into a ball with their legs tucked in. Either way, the host’s larvae die so, strictly speaking, chrysidines are not true parasites. Larvae of cuckoo wasps develop at the expense of the host’s offspring, feeding either on the fully developed host larvae or on the stored food in the host nest (usually paralysed caterpillars or spiders). This accounts for many finds, people either noticing the brightly coloured wasps hovering about walls as they search for a host nest, or finding them after they’ve entered a building and got trapped on the inside of a window pane. Among the most common hosts for cuckoo wasps are the various mud-daubing wasps that build their nests around houses, sheds and other human constructions. Other than the iridescent Chrysidini, though, members of this family are small, dullcoloured insects unlikely to come to one’s attention.Īs the name ‘cuckoo wasps’ suggests, females lay their eggs in the nests of other insects. All members of this family are parasitic on other insects. Note the apparently 3-segmented abdomen.Ĭuckoo wasps belong to one subdivision (the tribe Chrysidini) of the world-wide family Chrysididae. Some northern hemisphere species have gold or reddish tints and are termed ‘gold wasps’ and ‘ruby wasps’, respectively.Ī cuckoo wasp ( Primeuchroeus species). The body surface is deeply and densely pitted, imparting a glittery appearance. Note the apparently 3-segmented abdomen.Īmong the most exquisite wasps to be found in Australia are the cuckoo wasps (or emerald wasps) which are almost wholly bright iridescent green, blue or purple. Article | Updated 1 decade ago A cuckoo wasp (Primeuchroeus species).
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