Ruby-tailed wasp

01 Tuesday Jul 2025

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British wasps, Chrysididae, kleptoparasitic wasps, kleptoparasitism, parasitic wasps, Ruby-tailed wasp, wasp

This gorgeous creature, clad in glimmering metallic colours of blue and green and red, is one of the Ruby-tailed wasps, the Chrysididae, and that’s as close to a definitive identification as I can come. According to an article I found on the BWARS (Bees, Wasps and Ants Recording Society) website, there are currently 38 species of Chrysid wasps in the British Isles and Channel Islands. Seven of those 38 species are shown on the Naturespot website, and they all look remarkably similar to my eye so I’m not even going to try to put an exact name to the one shown here. And, to be honest, I’m just incredibly pleased that this tiny wasp didn’t immediately fly away as I approached but, instead, allowed me to get reasonably good photos to share with you.

Now, just to be clear, though they look stunning, the Ruby-tailed wasps are almost all parasitic in nature. Some parasitise the eggs and larvae of other invertebrates, including other wasp species and bees; others are kleptoparasites, stealing the food other solitary wasps leave in their nests for their own larvae. Beauty and the beast encased in one tiny but beautiful bundle.

I is for ichneumon

14 Thursday Dec 2023

Posted by sconzani in insects

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Amblyjoppa fuscipennis, British ichneumons, British wasps, Ichneumon sarcitorius, Ichneumon wasps, wasp

I’m not very good at photographing and/or identifying bee and wasp species (they’re almost never still, and they can be tricky to identify) so I was very happy to nail not one, but two wasp species in August. Both were ichneumon wasps, the first, which featured in An ichneumon, 10 August, is Amblyjoppa fuscipennis.

231214 Amblyjoppa fuscipennis

And this second beauty was also distinctive enough for me successfully to identify. Meet Ichneumon sarcitorius (from Another ichneumon, 11 August).

231214 Ichneumon sarcitorius

Face to face

10 Wednesday Nov 2021

Posted by sconzani in autumn, insects

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British wasps, male wasps, Vespula vulgaris, wasp, wasps on ivy

A long section of the coastal path where I walked yesterday was lined with Ivy, covered in ripening clusters of berries … and wasps. It seemed like each nest of wasps (all Vespula vulgaris, as far as I could tell) had laid claim to its own bush, where they sat preening on leaves, wandered over the berries, or just snoozed, and I was able to get quite close for some photos.

211110 wasp (1)

I’ve just been reading on the really informative Eakringbirds website that ‘Many wasps found on flowers from August onwards will often be males. These tend to be more docile and slightly less active than workers and often make better photographic subjects’, and that was certainly the case for me yesterday.

211110 wasp (2)

266/366 A sweet necessity

22 Tuesday Sep 2020

Posted by sconzani in insects

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annoying wasps, apples, wasp, wasp eating apple, wasp seeking sweet food

As I sat enjoying the coastal view, sipping my water, eating my apple, this wasp came a’visiting, buzzing annoyingly around the hand holding the apple, seeking sweet food, as they do on the fine days of late summer and early autumn. And, until I read this article on The Conversation website, I had no idea why. Take a look – it’s really interesting and well written. Oh, and my solution? I broke off a small piece of the apple and put it on the bench arm rest, so the wasp could help itself. As you can see, that worked a treat.

200925 wasp

242/366 Bottoms on brambles

29 Saturday Aug 2020

Posted by sconzani in autumn, insects, nature, plants

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blackberries, brambles, flies, insects on blackberries, insects on bramble, wasp

I don’t know about you but, when I’m out walking at this time of year, I’m often tempted to pluck and devour one of the luscious-looking blackberries growing on the bramble-covered fences and hedgerows.

Well, not any more. Not now I’ve seen how many flies like to suck at them and run their dirty little feet all over them. Just look at all those fly bottoms!

And let’s not even mention the very real possibility of getting stung by a wasp that’s jealously guarding ‘its’ berries. From now on, the berries are all for the beasties!

94/366 Curiosity

03 Friday Apr 2020

Posted by sconzani in insects, nature

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British wasps, Common wasp, Vespula vulgaris, wasp

This Common wasp (Vespula vulgaris), which was enjoying the warm sunshine on the front of the house this morning, seemed to be as curious about me as I was about it.

(Yes, the windows are a mess – I live in a flat in a Grade II listed building that’s well over 100 years old, and the windows, most of which still have Victorian glass in them, with all its imperfections, are in need of major repair. It’s a long and ongoing story.)

323/365 Autumn critters

19 Tuesday Nov 2019

Posted by sconzani in autumn, insects, nature, plants

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autumn insects, bees, British insects, Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, hoverflies, ivy flowers, moth larva, Red Admiral, wasp

It may be late autumn, with shortening days, chill winds and cooling nights but, when the sun comes out as it did yesterday, the insects also come out to warm themselves and feed. During my walk around Cosmeston I spotted a late Red admiral butterfly and then, further on, where ivy was still flowering, a host of flying mini-beasties: hoverflies, various bees and wasps. And, near them, tucked away further down on a bramble leaf, even a caterpillar, probably a moth larva though I’m not sure which species.

247/365 On the menu

04 Wednesday Sep 2019

Posted by sconzani in 365DaysWildin2019, insects, nature

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#365DaysWild, British dragonflies, dragonflies, dragonfly, dragonfly eating wasp, Hawker dragonflies, Southern hawker, wasp

Today’s lunchtime snack for this Southern hawker dragonfly had a sting in the tail: it was a wasp. The dragonfly, though, started its meal from the other end, first devouring the head, then removing the wings, before steadily munching its way down the body.

190904 southern hawker (2)

This was obviously not good news for the wasp but it was good news for me, as this was the first Southern hawker that’s stayed still long enough this year for me to grab some photos.

190904 southern hawker (1)

123/365 A Bramble confection

03 Friday May 2019

Posted by sconzani in 365DaysWildin2019, insects, nature, spring

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#365DaysWild, British insects, Dock bug, Eristalis sp, Green shieldbug, harlequin ladybird, hoverfly, insects on bramble, Nursery web spider, Speckled wood, Syrphus sp, wasp

Ingredients: 1 patch of Bramble, lashings of sunshine, a tablespoon of warmth, a dash of Springtime
Method: Stand and stare
Result: Nursery web spider, Dock bug, hoverfly (Syrphus sp.), Speckled wood butterfly, Green shieldbug, bee species, another hoverfly (Eristalis sp.), Harlequin ladybird, and wasp (Vespula sp.).

Death on the windowsill

27 Saturday Oct 2018

Posted by sconzani in insects, nature

≈ 2 Comments

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British insects, dead insects, dead insects on the windowsill, dead slater, dead wasp, dead woodlouse, slater, wasp, woodlouse

I don’t know about you but, except on the very coldest of days, I like to have my windows open, at least for a short time each day, to let some fresh air into the house. Trouble is the little critters seem to sense that it’s warmer indoors than out and, if I don’t notice their presence, they don’t manage to escape with their lives. This morning I found two casualties, a Slater and a Wasp.

181025 dead slater 181025 dead wasp