Today's wasp of the day is Pristaulacus fasciatus!
Credits: photo 1, photo 2
Freshly dead wood is a primo resource in the bug world. When an otherwise healthy tree is cut or damaged, many bugs will rush on over to reap the rewards. And it's not just the critters that are interested in the wood itself who come by. Aulacid wasps are known parasitoids of various wood-boring beetles, and they'll carefully investigate any cracks or holes in the wood to sniff out their hosts. The way this sparkly little dragon walks and moves its wings leads some to hypothesize that it wasp wants you to believe its actually a spider wasp and thus would be capable of giving you a nasty sting. Yet alas, this wasp is only a threat to beetles who think they just scored some free real estate.
An observation mentioned that they're "super sparkly"— probably due to all the short little hairs on them catching the light. They literally twinkle ✨















