Comment on Just landed next to me.
pulsewidth@lemmy.world 5 days agoThey’re not huge, under 2cm. They catch spiders and caterpillars according to wiki, I’ve mostly seen them with small caterpillars. And yep - back to their cool hexagon nests for the larvae and queen.
Here’s a webpage with a close relative Aus wasp that makes the same kinds of nests, lots of good pics. www.brisbaneinsects.com/…/PaperWasps.htm
profgrumpypants@midwest.social 5 days ago
Ah, these aren’t the big chunkas I am talking about but maybe their distant cousins. I am not even sure how to describe the guys I am talking about. Gigantic though, they’re pretty big. Around 5cm in length. Orange like too. Thanks for the website, the info is great and I am going to pass it on.
pulsewidth@lemmy.world 5 days ago
Maybe some kind of spider wasp aka tarantula hawk. They’re much bigger and IMO very pretty. Often attract some observers if they’re dragging away a big spider they’ve caught near a school or house. I’ve seen the orange and black common one most often, they’re loud and and can give you a shock if they fly past your head. Cheers www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/biosecurity/…/spider-wasp
naturemapr.org/categories/guide/290
profgrumpypants@midwest.social 5 days ago
I think this (Horse’s Paper Wasp) might be the guy. You could see them at a distance quite easily. They were fairly large. I realized only after your lovely post that it was a big and vague ask. Either way, bugs are wonderful and thanks for the share. Cheers!