Last spring, at one of our regular meetings at Burrawang Bushcare Woy Woy, we were delighted to find an interesting insect. A photo sent off to Entomology Australia “Invertebratology” Facebook page confirmed a 20mm female Flower Wasp. We needed to know more! 

In spring the solitary adults emerge from the soil. The males have wings and fly off looking for a female and the females climb to the top of a grass stalk or shrub. She begins to emit pheromones to attract the males. The winged male carries the female away and after some mandible stroking, a coupling occurs. BUT this is not a simple process! The genitalia of Flower Wasps are quite complex, as they function to inseminate the female but must also carry her around for hours, and pivot! Females of this species rely on the male for transportation to flowers to feed.

This is where is gets interesting! If the female doesn’t attract a male of her own species after some time, she adjusts her pheromones to attract any species of the Flower Wasp. This has made it particularly difficult, until DNA fingerprinting, to match sexes of one species as there are an unusually high number of cross species mating, and males and females of the same species look very different. Even if the female doesn’t attract a mate of her species she will enjoy a meal of flowers, then when dropped off, rejects the sperm of the other species, and will lay unfertilised but viable eggs. Clones of herself! 

The female burrows through the soil in search of beetle larvae. She will lay one egg on the beetle grub. The larvae of the Flower Wasp will at first feed on the grub’s body fluid until it dies then feeds on its organs before pupating. 

What an interesting life! Don’t get me started on the Wasps that mate with orchids! That can wait for another article!

This article was written by Robyn Urquhart, Environmental Volunteer Officer

Photo credit: Ben MacAndrew
 

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