Tiny Tamarixia parasite wasp looks for psyllid nymphs to lay eggs into. These psyllids look very similar to scale and have badly infested the new growth of a lilly pilly shrub. Kyogle, NSW.
Using her wing vibrations to power her ovipositor, wasp deposits eggs into an unknown insect nest. The bend in the ovipositor illustrates the amount of force required to penetrate the target. When I first saw the wasp, it looked and moved very much like the nearby strobe ants. After darting about the gum tree feeling with her antennae, she found this cluster of nests and began her own egg laying mission. Mundubbera, QLD.
When I first saw this wasp, it looked and moved very much like the nearby strobe ants. After darting about the gum tree feeling with her antennae, she found this cluster of unknown insect nests and began her own egg laying mission. Mundubbera, QLD.