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- Winged male 15mm, female 8mm
- We saw a wasp landed and rested on a dry grass with its abdomen tip attached with something. Looked a bit closer we found that the attachment was a wingless wasp. Then we understand it must be a flower wasps mating pairs. They flied away after we took a few photos.
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- It is common to see male winged Flower Wasp carrying a wingless female, with tail to tail attached, flying between plants.
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- To a female, wingless is an advantage when living on or under soil but it is also a problem to feed on flowers. Flower wasp evolved a mating behaviour which the male help the female on feeding. Their mating time is very long. It is common to see a male Flower Wasp carrying a wingless female, with tail to tail attached, flying between flowers. The transportation is part of the mating procedures.
- Photos were taken on August in Karawatha Forest.
- We thought this wasp was Tachyphron aculeatus, Graham Brown sent us email and advised that Tachyphron armidalensis is the only species in Brisbane.
- Reference:
- 1. Tachyphron aculeatus - - Insects of Townsville, Australia, Graeme Cocks, 2004.
- 2. Tachyphron, a New Genus of Australian Thynninae (Hymenoptera: Tiphiidae) - G. R. BROWN, J. Aust. ent. SOC., 1995, 34: 241-246.
Brown Flower Wasp - Tachyphron armidalensis
FAMILY TIPHIIDAE
This page contains pictures and information about Brown Flower Wasps that we found in the Brisbane area, Queensland, Australia.
