Definitely the stuff nighmares are made of...
Posted on 03/27/2012 4:29:43 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Males of new species have long, sickle-shaped jaws
A new species of giant, venomous wasp has been found on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi (map), scientists say.
The two-inch-long (five-centimeter-long) black insects are shrouded in mystery—all of the wasp specimens caught so far have been dead.
"I'm not certain any researcher has ever seen one alive, but they are very bizarre-looking," said study co-author Lynn Kimsey, an entomologist at the University of California, Davis, who co-discovered the insect.
"It's the extreme version of the [larrine wasp] subfamily they belong to."
Larrine wasps typically dig nests for their eggs and larvae in open, sandy areas. The adults grow no longer than an inch (2.5 centimeters)—making the newly discovered Megalara garuda the "king of wasps," according to the study authors.
Wasp Males' Spiky Jaws
Female M. garuda wasps look like most other wasp species, but the males grow long, sickle-shaped jaws.
The males' flattened faces and large, spiked jaws may be clever adaptations to protect a nest that contains vulnerable larvae, she suggested.
"Other wasps of the same species often rob burrows for food, and parasites try to get in there, too," she said. "There's a serious advantage to having the nest guarded. This may be how the male helps guarantee his paternity."
(See "Pictures: Wasps Turn Ladybugs Into Flailing "Zombies.")
In general, "we don't know what this wasp does," Kimsey said. "But it probably feeds its larvae grasshoppers or katydids, like other wasps in its subfamily."
"Mythical" Wasp Under Threat
Kimsey and co-author Michael Ohl, of Berlin's Humboldt University, caught their first glimpse of the new wasp in Indonesia's Museum Zoologicum Bogoriense, where the bugs had been kept in storage since 1930. Ohl also found unidentified specimens at the Humboldt Museum in Berlin.
On a 2009 expedition, the team found more wasps at a cacao plantation in the southeastern mountains of Sulawesi. In naming M. garuda, the team looked to the national symbol of Indonesia: a mythical half-human, half-bird creature in the Hindu religion called Garuda.
Although as many as a hundred thousand species of insects may live on Sulawesi, Kimsey suspects "only half have names."
But the fates of these species—including the newfound wasp—are in jeopardy. Since the 1960s forests in the region have been increasingly leveled to plant several types of crops. (Read about rain forest threats.)
"The place where we collected wasps is slated to be an open-pit nickel mine," Kimsey said.
"Just thinking about it makes me sick to my stomach."
I wish I never read this and I put my hands over my eyes to scroll down and post so I saw very little. This is not a good thing to read about or an image to see before bedtime.
I can’t help but see a pattern in your criticism. :-)
Definitely the stuff nighmares are made of...
As Bob Hope would say, “Oh, you mean Democrats?”
Believe me, I’ve lived and worked in the DC area for over 40 years, including over 20 years with the Govt. I know zombies.
I used to work for Congress. I know zombies.
I used to cover street protests by the Left. I know zombies.
I have a liberal or two in the family. I definitely know zombies.
Soulless, hollow faces, gaunt eyes, shuffling around as in a daze. I KNOW ZOMBIES, but in DC we call them Democrats.
NatGeo video about the Japanese giant hornets.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2P7Q1ncgcoY&feature=related
It started out with looking in the mirror and talking to my dad.
Then I started asking him for advice and guidance.
He didn't really say much ... seemed to be just as confused as I was, so I decided to start thinking about .. How did I get here?
I relized there WAS a beginning and as I travelled over the years, by golly I saw a pattern also.
So when I am confronted with a story or article, I automatically go to, "How did you/he/she/they/it GET to this point ?"
Lay the axe to the root and step on the serpent's head.
When will you tell us what uyou really think about educatoin?
;-)
It is. Wasps I mean. They eat protein , other bugs and that barbeque chicken we love so much in the summer. Ants evolved from wasps.
So to summarize this is pretty pisspoor prose from a pisspoor person pisspoorly taught?
That thing is so big it looks like it has bugs splattered on it’s forehead!
I saw the documentary in HD. I had a bad experience with yellowjackets/German WASPs as a kid. Want to guess what had me waking up in a cold sweat for a good week?
"Just thinking about it makes me sick to my stomach."
If just one nickel mine can wipe out a significant fraction of the total population of these wasps, then they are not very significant to the ecology of the region and will not be missed.
The wasp was no doubt discovered in whatever environmental permits the mine may had to have done - like for a World Bank loan. If it weren’t for the proposed mine, they would have never known it was there.
Although I guess they would have found out soon enough. “Hey boss man - where do you want to start digging!?”
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| GGG managers are SunkenCiv, StayAt HomeMother & Ernest_at_the_Beach | |
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Thanks KoRn. Nice to know the latest buzz. |
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oh goody...bees are my one phobia. Wasps and hornets. another good reason not to visit Indonesia (not that visiting Islamic countries is on my list anyway)
“venomous wasp”
Uhh, all wasps are venomous.
“bees are my one phobia”
Bees I don’t mind. They help create that great elixir MEAD.
I don’t have much use for wasps, hornets and yellow-jackets though.
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