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Anoplius
A black, flying insect that spends most of its time on or near the water at Lake Emma in Glendalough State Park, Minnesota. It pumps its tail and dances around like its marking its territory, leaving a scent or trying to attract a mate...
Lake Emma on or near the water (lily pads, viewing dock, etc...)
Spotted on Aug 13, 2012
Submitted on Aug 30, 2012
5 Comments
Great catch Bug -Eric....
BugEric-Sorry. Looked under Spider Wasp and not its genis Anoplius. Thank you!
BugEric-Thank you for the correction which I've fixed. One thing that stumps me though is that the link states that the spider wasp has "orange antennae and orange patch on the wingtips" which I didn't notice on this one. It also states their habitat is, "Always in semi-open or open situations ("waste areas", meadows, pastures, open woods and edges, desert, semi-arid grassland, etc.). Never found in deep woods" I found this one on a lily pad in a lake near deep woods...
This is *not* a Great Black Wasp, but a spider wasp in the genus Anoplius. Takes an experienced eye to be able to tell the difference. Nice find anyway!
Reza Hashemizadeh-Thank you so much! :-)