A worldwide community photographing and learning about wildlife
Project Noah Nature School
I mistook this for a female Thynnid wasp later to be informed it is actually a large ant, approx. 1.2cm long.
Spotted on Mar 8, 2015
Submitted on Mar 8, 2015
6 Comments
I'm just scratching the surface Vinny. All thanks go to John. I just hope nobody overhears me in the bushes saying "Please show me your petiole." :)
The chance to learn from people like yourself and Mark is what I love about this site. Thanks for the detailed response.
Vinny - Don't feel too bad, ants are a type of wasp. So you were still right in a way. Sometimes the winged ants can be extremely difficult to tell from wasps. The trick is to look at the petiole (the small segment between the thorax and abdomen) and see if it projects upwards, Hard to see in your pictures - but there. As Mark points out the elbowed antenna is also characteristic. John.
Haha I was so sure it was a wasp, still much to learn about the little invertebrates living at our feet.
Yes - ant.
I'd go for ant Vinny. Those antennae have decent scape and bend whereas flower wasps have evenly beaded ones..