Cuckoo Wasp

Identification – Chrysididae sp.

Another great safari today, with 26 keepers out of 11 subjects. But, there was never any doubt about what was going to make the blip spot.

Those who follow regularly may perhaps remember the saga of the blue cuckoo wasp. I was confident that I would get the shot, but after three weeks of failure, I had to give in. Well, this one just landed right in front of me while I was about to photograph something else. Still, I was only permitted one shot of this glorious creature. I didn’t nail it, but I am getting closer.

As the name suggests, this is a parasite wasp, that lays its eggs in other bees and wasps nests. There are over a hundred species and I could not get any closer than genus level.

Considering that the bug would require stealth to gain access into a solitary wasps mud cell, to lay its eggs on the paralysed spider, captured and dragged there by the mud dauber wasp, as food for its own eggs. You would think that a more subdued colour might be the order of the day.

Science has been baffled by the colour until just recently. It has been discovered that the shell of the cuckoo wasp is formed of several layers, which provide protection against stings from its host wasp, as it frequently gets caught. The cuckoo rolls into a tight ball when attacked. The wasp, unable to penetrate the defence, has no option left but to carry the nuisance out of the nest. The cuckoo, simply has another go, and another, until it gets its eggs in there. The striking blue colour is just incidental, a result of refraction of light through the many thin layers of shell.

Once the cuckoo eggs hatch, it employs one of two strategies; it either eats the wasp grub and the food provided, or it waits for the wasp grub to finish the food, and then eat the grub. This saves having to process two types of food.

Huge response to yesterday’s hopper, thank you all.

Dave