Pincer Wasp (Dryinus collaris)

This is a rare species in both Europe & the UK, with just 3 previous records on the UK national database at present.

Pincer wasps form the family 'Drydinidae' in the Superfamily Chrysidoidea (Cuckoo Wasps & allies).

Look closely at the photograph of this female (magnified above).

She has mantid-like forelegs with specially adapted flanged fore-tarsi, large eyes and a head that swivels in much the way a Mantid would. This allows her all round vision while waiting patiently for her prey to pass by. The male does not have these pincer-like claws.

Parasitoids predominently of the Ivy-eating planthopper Issus coleoptratus, she uses those pincers to pin her victim down while inserting an egg just under its cuticle, usually on the thorax.

When the larva emerge, to protect themselves while their host continues to move around and feed, they form a hard casing called a 'Thylacium'. Within this casing they feed on the hemolymphb (blood) and muscle tissue of the host.

Eventually the host dies and the larva continues to feed on the carcass before spinning a flat cellophane-like cocoon within which it pupates and emerges as an adult to start the process anew.