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BugGuide Gathering
Smoky Mountains
University of Tennessee Biological Field Station
August 8-10, 2008
 
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Photos from the 2007 gathering in Minnesota

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Photo#126180
Polistes Annularis - Standing Guard?  (with bonus bug...) - Polistes annularis

Polistes Annularis - Standing Guard? (with bonus bug...) - Polistes annularis
Four Holes Swamp, Francis Beidler Forest, Dorchester County, South Carolina, USA
July 10, 2007
Size: ~ 30mm
While the others were all very busy working, this guy stayed pretty much in the same place the entire time I was there. Standing watch maybe? I didn't notice the little guy on the branch until this evening. Maybe that's what has his attention. Who knows. The little guy lived to tell the tale I think. At least he was in all the pictures I took...

Images of this individual: tag all
Polistes Annularis Nest - Polistes annularis Polistes Annularis - Ring for ID - Polistes annularis Polistes Annularis - Two at work - Polistes annularis Polistes Annularis - Three at work - Polistes annularis Polistes Annularis - Standing Guard?  (with bonus bug...) - Polistes annularis

The little guy was no there by luck
This is most likely a parasitoid Chalcid wasp (Eulophidae from a genus related to Melittobia), who lurks until it can access unnoticed to an egg (inside a paper cell). It is quite possible that the standing female was indeed watching the tiny intruder. But was she aware of the danger, or did she simply mistake it for just another small ant? One of the intriguing enigmas some good pictures like yours sometimes point out.

 
I hadn't even considered...
... the little guy being the invader as a possibility. That really puts the scene in a new light for me. Thanks a lot Richard!

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