Outdoor Elements
Thin to the Extreme: Thread-waisted Wasps
Clip | 2m 51sVideo has Closed Captions
Evie introduces us to the gold-marked thread-waisted wasp.
During late summer and early fall we see many wasps. One of the most common solitary wasps takes skinny to the extreme. Evie introduces us to the gold-marked thread-waisted wasp. They are really good pollinators and really leave people alone for the most part.
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Outdoor Elements is a local public television program presented by PBS Michiana
Outdoor Elements
Thin to the Extreme: Thread-waisted Wasps
Clip | 2m 51sVideo has Closed Captions
During late summer and early fall we see many wasps. One of the most common solitary wasps takes skinny to the extreme. Evie introduces us to the gold-marked thread-waisted wasp. They are really good pollinators and really leave people alone for the most part.
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Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorshipIn late summer and early fall, we often see many wasps and the hives of the social wasps like yellow jackets and paper wasps and bald faced hornets are full to capacity of adult, mostly female wasps.
But there are many solitary wasps as well.
And one of the most common takes skinny to the extreme.
It's the gold marked thread waisted wasp.
That's a really long name for a long bodied wasp that has a skinny, very thin waist.
Most wasps have a narrow waist called a petiole, but in the thread waisted wasps, they are very thin as the name suggests.
The gold marked thread waisted wasp is solitary.
She digs a burrow with her mandibles and she drags a caterpillar that she is paralyzed by stinging it and chewing it with her mandibles.
She drags it into the borough, lays an egg and seals up that burrow.
When her larva hatches, it will feed on that caterpillar.
These great photos sent to us by Paul Ewing in Mishawaka were taken at Fernwood Botanic Gardens and Nature Center in Niles, Michigan.
And as you can see, the wasps are busy on flowers because they are really good pollinators.
So they serve a wonderful role in our ecosystem.
When you think about that thread waist, being so narrow, it's amazing to me that all of the systems that a Wasp has to have from its head down to its abdomen have to pass through that skinny section, things like the digestive tract and the reproductive tract and even the delivery system for a sting.
The thread waisted wasps are pretty much minding their own business in late summer.
They don't really bother humans unless you would really provoke it by picking it up or something because they are busy pollinating and searching for insects to drag into their burrow for their young.
Hey, don't forget to like us on Facebook so you can catch all the weekly webisodes and check out the outdoor elements website as well.
And remember, you can find your own outdoor elements when you visit area parks and natural areas.
We'll see you soon.
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Outdoor Elements is a local public television program presented by PBS Michiana