Blue-Black Metallic Wasp in California approximately 20cm seen at pond on lily pad
This is, in my opinion, the same wasp on a different day. It frequents my backyard pond and goes to pretty much the same spots. I have never seen two of this species at the same time. Very shiny deep metallic blue, so that except for the highlights it appears almost black. In the afternoon the shadows blend with the wasp making it's outlines hard to distinguish. I've used some image enhancements to widen the tones and make the edges visible. This will reveal the shapes, though the picture will have a very grainy appearance. I will link from here to the previous pictures, and so on.
Photos taken on a previous day can be seen starting here:
I've noticed that this wasp shakes its wings very vigorously every time after it lands. It makes a loud buzz. This is consistent with the behavior of the previously sighted wasp. See the previously sighted wasp here:
Contributed by
HandsOff on 28 June, 2007 - 10:33pm
Last updated 17 July, 2007 - 4:02pm