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Project Noah Nature School
Turneromyia sp.
Really gorgeous looking wasp. 20mm in length , very quick , the legs are flicking all the time . Black and grey , body striped, black wings.
Coastal beach , in the dunes , loose sand and mangroves
Family POMPILIDAE Spider wasps are distinctive in their habit of quick movement on the ground, with rapid wing flicking. Often they are seen around, or even digging, a burrow in sandy soils. Adult spider wasps feed on nectar but their larvae are fed on spiders. The adult female catches spiders by paralysing them with a sting. The spiders are then dragged either back to their own burrow, or into a burrow dug by the wasp nearby. Eggs are laid on the paralysed spider and the larvae gain nourishment from it while it is still alive. The vital organs of the spider are left until last to avoid rotting. Sometimes the wasps also bite off the legs of spiders before they are taken to the burrow.
Spotted on Dec 21, 2014
Submitted on Dec 21, 2014
4 Comments
Nice series
Tas Insects - 10th photo down the page also - https://sites.google.com/site/insectsoft...
Always forgetting the link ..i found it on Tas Insects ..but no species name ...so looked further :) ..link in now :)
Very handsome critter. Have you got a link to an ID? I can only see Perth but it looks a good match.