Megascolia azurea christiana

I first spotted this wasp 18 years ago. A friend and I observed it coming out of a hole in the ground near a tree root. It was very worrying as it just kept coming out, more and more of it. I could have sworn it was 2” long.

In 2011, armed with a camera, I found the wasp again. Still not over my wasp phobia at that time, I was reluctant to get any closer than four feet and had one foot angled for a sprint get-a-way.

I knew that I would want a measurement, so I photographed my feet position and noted my stance. I returned with photo print-outs and a steel rule, using all the information I was able to position the camera and photographed the rule in position. Back at the lab, I overlaid the images to get a measurement – 36mm.

For a long time, I was convinced that this bug was a bee, but made no progress in the ID hunt. Finally I had a look at wasps and soon found the species under Scoliidae. Unfortunately I have not seen the wasp since. If I saw it today, I would likely scoop it up and take it home with me.

Location is Bandung, West Java, Indonesia. Scrubland.

comments (8)

Ferdy Christant

Lion

hi Dave, Megascolia azurea christiana is a sub species, right? If so, do you have an online reference that I can use for species record creation? Posted 9 years ago
1. WildFlower
  
  Lion
  
  I think it is better to create the main species and possibly include a list of subspecies unless they are really distinct from one another and we would expect to have several specimens per subspecies. Posted 9 years ago
2. 1. Ferdy Christant
    
    Lion
    
    I agree, I'll create the main species record. Posted 9 years ago
  2. 1. WildFlower
      
      Lion
      
      I wanted to add the suspecies list but there are no records for this species in the big databases, that's very strange. Posted 9 years ago
    2. 1. Ferdy Christant
        
        Lion
        
        I agree, it's not even on EOL (which in the background consists of almost every major database). That said, I can find at least 3 casual observations, I just don't know what the source of the taxonomy is. Posted 9 years ago

Vodkaman

Lion

Records of this wasp are very difficult to fin, as you are discovering. The problem is that the appearance of the wasp is very rare. Bug safaris of 1 - 2 hours per day, for three years, and I only saw the wasp once. Most entomologists will come to Indonesia for maybe a couple of weeks at most, preferring to spend their off station time in more exotic lands. There is a lot of sub-species activity here that has not been recorded.

As for Christiana, it has been photographed and collected much further north than my location, China, India etc. But it has never been recorded in Indonesia, but I have the exact image. I am happy enough to just call it Azurea, but we both know it probably requires its own classification.

My source of image was hkwildlife.net but now the image is not working.

Dave Posted 9 years ago
1. Vodkaman
  
  Lion
  
  Also spotted in Singapore:
  http://www.butterflycircle.com/showthread.php?6189-Common-solitary-bees-and-wasps-of-Singapore
  
  Dave Posted 9 years ago
2. Ferdy Christant
  
  Lion
  
  No worries, Dave, we believe you :) It's just exceptional that its not officially listed. Posted 9 years ago