#Hymenoptera

[uncharismatic-fauna]

Uncharismatic Fact of the Day

Asian giant hornets are well known for preying on honeybees, and as the largest hornet species in the world they may seem indominatble. However, Japanese honey bees have developed a tried and true technique for defending their homes: when they sense a hornet coming, about a hundred workers form a shallow tunnel around the hive's entrance, enticing the hornet in. Once the hornet enters the workers surround her and vibrate their bodies. This raises the interior of their ball to 46 °C (115 °F) and releases carbon dioxide, both cooking and suffocating the hornet.

(Image: A group of Japanese honey bees (Apis cerana japonica) surrounding an Asian giant hornet (Vespa mandarinia) by Masato Ono)

[onenicebugperday]

Sawfly larvae, Caliroa cinxia, Tenthredinidae

Found sporadically throughout Europe

Photographed in Yorkshire by ophrys

[addicted2wasps]

Pretty self-explanatory, I think! Most wasps are small, parasitoids, and can't even sting! They're all beautiful in my eyes (even yellowjackets)! The Pompilid in the top left corner can sting, but it's not black and yellow, so it gets a pass.

Wasps FTW!

[mathpope]

polistes exclamans x pogonomyrmex barbatus 👭🐜🤝🐝 (there is no wasp emoji)

[hawkpartys]

[humblegrub]

fuzzy puffs love artichoke fluffs pt 2

[herpsandbirds]

Cellophane Bee (Colletes wilmattae), family Colletidae, Manitoba, Canada

"Species in the genus build cells in underground nests that are lined with a cellophane-like plastic secretion, a true polyester, also earning them the nickname polyester bees... " (Wikipedia)

photograph by Thilina Hettiarachchi

[dinoserious]

invertober day 7, ruby tailed wasp! nice colors on this kooky critter

[crevicedwelling]

ants were farming other animals long before humans figured it out! here is a Cautolasius herdswoman with her livestock

many subterranean Lasius species cultivate flocks of plump root aphids, guarding them against predators and moving them to safe locations and fresh pastures. they “milk” the aphids for honeydew, a sugary waste product of the aphids’ digestion. I’ve read the ants will only kill and eat their livestock in times of famine.

when I flipped their rock, this ant grabbed the nearest aphid and ran it to safety. she’s another species of Lasius, this one in the subgenus Chthonolasius; I can’t tell if her colony’s aphids are different from the Cautolasius’ though.

[artifacts-and-arthropods]

Wool-Carder Bees: these solitary bees harvest the soft, downy hairs that grow on certain plants, rolling them into bundles and then using the material to line their nests

Wool-carder bees build their nests in existing cavities, usually finding a hole/crevice in a tree, a plant stem, a piece of rotting wood, or a man-made structure, and then lining the cavity with woolly plant fibers, which are used to form a series of brood cells.

The fibers (known as trichomes) are collected from the leaves and stems of various plants, including lamb’s ear (Stachys byzantina), mulleins, globe thistle, rose campion, and other fuzzy plants.

From the University of Florida's Department of Entomology & Nematology:

The female uses her toothed mandibles to scrape trichomes off fuzzy plants and collects a ball of the material under her abdomen. She transports these soft plant fibers to her selected nest site and uses them to line a brood cell. Next, she collects and deposits a provision of pollen and nectar into the cell, enough pollen to feed a larva until it is ready to pupate. Lastly, she lays a single egg on top of the pollen and nectar supply before sealing the cell. ... She will repeat this process with adjoining cells until the cavity is full.

These are solitary bees, meaning that they do not form colonies or live together in hives. Each female builds her own nest, and the males do not have nests at all.

Female wool-carder bees will sometimes sting if their nest is threatened, but they are generally docile. The males are notoriously aggressive, however; they will often chase, head-butt, and/or wrestle any other insect that invades their territory, and they may defend their territory from intruders up to 70 times per hour. The males do not have stingers, but there are five tiny spikes located on the last segment of their abdomen, and they often use those spikes when fighting. They also have strong, sharp mandibles that can crush other bees.

There are many different types of wool-carder bee, but the most prolific is the European wool-carder (Anthidium manicatum), which is native to Europe, Asia, and North Africa, but has also become established as an invasive species throughout much of North America, most of South America, and New Zealand. It is the most widely distributed unmanaged bee in the world.

A few different species of wool-carder bee: the top row depicts the European wool-carder, A. manicatum (left) and the spotted wool-carder, Anthidium maculosum (right), while the bottom row depicts the reticulated small-woolcarder, Pseudoanthidium reticulatum, and Porter's wool-carder, Anthidium porterae

Sources & More Info:

University of Florida: The Woolcarder Bee

Oregon State University: European Woolcarder Bees

Bohart Museum of Entomology: Facts about the Wool Carder Bee (PDF)

Bumblebee Conservation Trust: A. manicatum

World's Best Gardening Blog: European Wool Carder Bees - Likeable Bullies

Biological Invasions: Global Invasion by Anthidium manicatum

[futurebird]

Wasps so tiny you will question everything.

Imagine being so teeny tiny that you are an endoparasite on *leafhoppers* Leafhoppers are already in the "so small they go unnoticed" category, and you're just a little pest on a minuscule thing.

Of course the group that's most likely to choose this life? The wasps Wasps are some of the smallest insects. There are "fairy flies" that are parasites of the eggs of certain insects.

They are so small that air is "thick" to them and their wings have feathered edges are are oar shaped.

Some fairly flies are so tiny that their neurons are cells without nuclei. They got rid of them to save space. They can still think though... presumably the tiniest little thoughts.

Photo by Alexey Polilov, 2012

They lay their eggs inside of the eggs of 1-2mm long crop pests.

And... read the article to see what the males are like... they are even smaller somehow, but it's ... disturbing.

[morbidsmenagerie]

Finally got the full color version of my wasp zine printed!

Here's the full docx file if you want to read it!

[bowelfly]

inkwash bugs

[honeycomb-butch]

California galls, they’re undeniable, Round plant growths, created by wasps. Quercus[1] represent, now put your wings up. Ooh oh ooh, ooh oh ooh.

You could travel the world, But nothing comes close to the Andricus[2], Once you’re forming a gall, you’ll be falling in love. Ooh oh ooh, ooh oh ooh.

[1] Oak genus that the California gall wasps induce galls in [2] Califonia gall wasps are Andricus quercuscalifornicus

[humblegrub]

leafcutter bee song (unintentional)

see the video on tiktok here