Common Name: Thread Waisted Wasp
Size: 15mm – 40mm
Location: Sitapaila, Nepal
These thread-waisted wasps are commonly sighted in Kathmandu Valley and most of the other regions also. The name has been derived from the thin waist it has. These wasps feed on nectar from the flower and also on small insects like caterpillars which will be taken as the food for their larvae.
Please feel free to comment below if the above species has been misidentified.
Bronwyn
Awesome! are they dragonfly mimics? Having such a long abdomen doesn’t seem very efficient for a stinging insect… how flexible is it?
ansr50@gmail.com
Bronwyn, they are not dragonfly mimics and classified under the parasitoidal wasps which consist’s of the mud daubers, sand wasps along with other thread-waisted wasps. The abdomen is flexible and I’ve seen these thread-waisted wasps prey on larvae and also flying off with it to their nests.