3 A gall wasp or Chalcid wasp at Acton, ACT
Identification history
| Chalcidoidea (superfamily) | 17 Sep 2021 | MichaelMulvaney | ||
| Chalcidoidea (superfamily) | 16 Aug 2019 | MichaelMulvaney | ||
| Unidentified | 11 Feb 2019 | TimL |
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User's notes
The sequence of images show tiny dark coloured eggs on a leaf from which a number of tiny wasps (each about 3 mm in overall length) started to emerge all within a short period of time. The images show one of the wasps emerging from an egg and then standing cleaning its body and wings before flying off. A bit of a photographic challenge at 3.5X magnification and with tiny energetic wasps.
4 comments
KimPullen
wrote:
12 Feb 2019
Nice shots. I would separate image #1 from the others, as it appears to be a different species; #1 has the wings entirely transparent, and the antennae are different.
TimL
wrote:
12 Feb 2019
Hi Kim,
Image #1 is of a wasp which I photographed hatching from the darker eggs seen in the images together with other wasps. They are all from the same batch of eggs. The wasp in image #1 had its wings down on its body when it hatched and they looked black until it raised the wings to clean them. I've no idea why the antennae are different, or any other features, but these are all images from a long sequence showing hatching wasps all from the same cluster of eggs, being the darker ones in the second image.
Tim
Image #1 is of a wasp which I photographed hatching from the darker eggs seen in the images together with other wasps. They are all from the same batch of eggs. The wasp in image #1 had its wings down on its body when it hatched and they looked black until it raised the wings to clean them. I've no idea why the antennae are different, or any other features, but these are all images from a long sequence showing hatching wasps all from the same cluster of eggs, being the darker ones in the second image.
Tim
YumiCallaway
wrote:
15 Feb 2019
Lovely sequence, Tim!
The antennae looks the same to me, especially when comparing image #1 and image #4. The focus, angle, background and lighting being different probably makes it look varied. Other features like the reflective blue-green colour of the body, eye shape/size and the white colouring on the bottom half of the legs etc in the last three photos all match with the first one. The colour and form would most likely increase in clarity, given some time after emerging (like other insects e.g. the caterpillar of the Orchard Swallowtail - they often emerge in a light brown colour striped with grey white which changes within the first few minutes into more solid colours of black and white or a darker brown and white).
The antennae looks the same to me, especially when comparing image #1 and image #4. The focus, angle, background and lighting being different probably makes it look varied. Other features like the reflective blue-green colour of the body, eye shape/size and the white colouring on the bottom half of the legs etc in the last three photos all match with the first one. The colour and form would most likely increase in clarity, given some time after emerging (like other insects e.g. the caterpillar of the Orchard Swallowtail - they often emerge in a light brown colour striped with grey white which changes within the first few minutes into more solid colours of black and white or a darker brown and white).
KimPullen
wrote:
16 Feb 2019
Tim and Yumi, you've convinced me that they are all one species. It looks like one of the Chalcidoidea, a very diverse superfamily.
Location information
- Coordinates 149.106120-35.275084
- Maps ANBG
- Places Acton, ACT
Sighting information
- 4 - 15 Abundance
- 11 Feb 2019 10:02 AM Recorded on
- TimL Recorded by
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Collections
Featured sightings Insects Wasps (Hymenoptera, Apocrita) Parasitic wasps (numerous families) TimL
Additional information
- Less than 5mm Animal size
Species information
- Chalcidoidea (superfamily) Scientific name
- A gall wasp or Chalcid wasp Common name
- Not Sensitive
- Local native
- Non-invasive or negligible
- Up to 2063.3m Recorded at altitude
- Machine learning
- External link More information
Record quality
- Images or audio
- More than one media file
- Verified by an expert moderator
- Nearby sighting(s) of same species
- GPS evidence of location
- Description
- Additional attributes
