New Wasp Discovered. Warrior Wasp.

[Floppin]

The jaw-dropping, shiny black wasp appears to be the "Komodo dragon" of the wasp family.

It's huge. The male measures about two-and-a-half-inches long, Kimsey said. "Its jaws are so large that they wrap up either side of the head when closed. When the jaws are open they are actually longer than the male's front legs. I don't know how it can walk. The females are smaller but still larger than other members of their subfamily, Larrinae."

Kimsey discovered the warrior wasp on the Mekongga Mountains in southeastern Sulawesi on a recent biodiversity expedition funded by a five-year grant from the International Cooperative Biodiversity Group Program.

The insect-eating predator belongs to the genus Dalara and family Crabronidae. "I'm going to name it Garuda, after the national symbol of Indonesia," Kimsey said. Garuda, a powerful mythical warrior that's part human and part eagle, boasts a large wingspan, martial prowess and breakneck speed.

"The first time I saw the wasp I knew it was something really unusual," said Kimsey, a noted wasp expert who oversees the Bohart Museum's global collection of 7 million insect specimens, including 500,000 wasps. "I'm very familiar with members of the wasp family Crabronidae that it belongs to but had never seen anything like this species of Dalara. We don't know anything about the biology of these wasps. They are only known from southwestern Sulawesi."

http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-08-entomologist-wasp-species.html

[Floppin]

Jesus, that's a creepy stinging flying demon insect.

[Johnny Rockets]

And people wonder why I have never been to Sulawesi.

[Cat]

Creepy.

We have these red velvet wasp in our yard. I had never seen them before we moved into our new house.

[Floppin]

Yeah I've seen those around where I live before.

[Mvp2014]

sweet, looks like an evil flying ant

[Epistaxis]

*shudders*

[bLACKpANTHER]

[GritsRgreat]

Creepy.

We have these red velvet wasp in our yard. I had never seen them before we moved into our new house.

I think they're beautiful. Check it out, get a stick and gently hold one down with it. That little devil will raise hell.

[Cat]

They are kind of pretty. I didn't know what the hell it was when I first saw it so I made my son get away from it and then we googled it. I think they are harmless.

[GritsRgreat]

They are kind of pretty. I didn't know what the hell it was when I first saw it so I made my son get away from it and then we googled it. I think they are harmless.

No they will sting the tar out of you if threatened. They'll get mad and scream at you if you hold one down.

[Panthers_Lover]

Creepy.

We have these red velvet wasp in our yard. I had never seen them before we moved into our new house.

It's actually called a red velvet "ant," but it is a wasp ... and it has some benefits.

One of our students did research on it a couple of years back, documenting their migration. (Can't find a link to her research right now.)

http://www.hgtv.com/gardening/red-velvet-ant/index.html

EDIT: I found the student's research info ... it had to do with the sound the wasps make, not migration ...

http://webs.wofford.edu/moellerjf/velvet%20ants/index.htm

[jim stone]

Yes Ive seen them. Hard as hell to kill.

[GritsRgreat]

nic named "cow killers'