Campsomeriella thoracica

Behavior

Being a solitary wasp species, C. thoracica does not establish hives. The males are gregarious and can be found in small groups, gravitating towards bushes and flowers seeking nectar and can be found around bees. They also patrol the areas, looking for potential females to mate with, using their strong vision to recognise them. Males might engage in minor skirmishes to mate as their population is generally higher than that of the female. The female is solitary and do not gather in small groups like the males do. She scouts the area in search for hosts, particularly scarab beetle larva. She might also create small burrows in order to find her host. This species is harmless to humans. If encountered by humans, the male will fly away or attempt to outmanoeuvre them, while the female will ignore the human, carrying on with her locating of hosts and will fly away to a farther spot if she is approached. She will only sting if mishandled, and is not aggressive. Their sting creates an immediate sharp pain in the area that is stung and the pain subsides after a short while. The sting is not medically significant.Like other wasps of the family, the female C. thoracica seeks a beetle larvae to attack. She may dig a burrow or encounter the beetle above ground. Using her large mandibles and strong legs, she tackles the grub and with her sharp stinger injects her eggs into the beetle, before flying off. The larva hatches after a few days and is white, segmented and mostly featureless, resembling a fly's larva and tapering at both ends. It remains attached to the beetle larva, and feeds on it as it grows. Eventually, it performs the finishing move by consuming all of the grub's internal organs and kills it, before spinning a cocoon and then emerging as the adult.