Large Mud-nesting Wasp
S1, Male, Face
Large Mud-nesting Wasp
S2, Male, Eyes
| Large Mud-nesting Wasp S1, Male, Face | | Large Mud-nesting Wasp S2, Male, Eyes | | ||
 | Class: | Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta) | |||
| Order: | Ant Bee Wasps (Hymenoptera) | ||||
| Family: | Potter Wasp (Wasp: Vespidae) iNaturalist Observation | ||||
| Species: | Large Mud-nesting Wasp (Abispa ephippium) | ||||
| This Photo: | 🔍S2, Male, Face🔎 | ||||
| Synonym: | Abispa abispa | ||||
| Other names: | Australian Hornet, Dauber Wasp, Large Mudnest Wasp, Large Mudwasp, Mud Dauber or Potter Wasp | ||||
Thank you Brian Dagley for identifying and Marco Selis for confirming the id of this species for us General Species Information: Found on Ellura (in the Murray Mallee, SA) and elsewhere S1, Male, ~20mm long. S2, Male, was significantly longer @ ~30mm. Finally after 9 years we found another. It was HUGE, all the other similar looking ones we found recently (where we got our hopes up was this one) are incredibly small by comparison. We've highlighted the 3 diagnostic "teeth" on the metanotum. These are quite unusual as they only have 9 flagellomeres. They aren't amputated that we can tell; including a photo of each antenna here. On S1 we can only count 9 flagellomeres as well. Of the few females images we can find, they seem to have 10 flagellomeres. Differences we think between males & femalesare: 1. Males have yellow face, females don't 2. Males have very narrow emarginations to the eyes, females have wider 3. Females have 10 flagellomeres, males have 9 4. Males have 7 visible tergites (abdominal segments) females have 6 (easiest way to separate) 5. Both help build the nest (very surprising to us) so a specimen on a nest does not mean it's female We've photographed some other features here that aren't usually seen. Not the short hair on the abdomen, makes it look like golden velvet from the side. But with a direct on shot the hair is hidden and the punctuations become ovbious. Note also the ridges on the pronotom and side of the thorax. James M. Carpenter said "Seven visible metasomal segments is universal in male Vespidae." Similar Species: Large Mud-nesting Wasp Mimicking Fly (Palimmecomyia pictipennis) : Masked Mud-nesting Wasp (Anterhynchium (Epiodynerus) nigrocinctum ssp nigrocinctum) | |||||
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