Location: Reading, England Posts: 7699 Joined: 12.07.04
Mmm - lovely - wish we got those this far north. Looks like a member of the Scoliidae to me - definitely a wasp Harmless to humans - my book says they are parasitoids of the larvae of large Scarabaeidea (chafer and scarab beetles). I saw a different species with orange spots in Turkey, which was about 4-5cm long - incredible creatures.
Chris is right, it does have many of the characteristics of a Scoliidae, although I've never seen a species such as this myself. Here is a picture of one of the largest members, the extraordinary Scolia flavifrons http://www.lynkos...-n17-f.htm, photographed near Rome in Italy. Amazing creature! Sarah
Some flies preserved in ethanol and then pinned often get the eyes sunken, how can this be avoided? Best answer: I usually keep alcohol-collected material in alcohol
Tried to attach an image to a forum post. jpg, 32kB, 72dpi, no blanks, ... File name is correctly displayed, but when I click "Preview Thread" it just vanishes. Help!