Ensign Wasp - Evania appendigaster

Go west, young wasp!

Regarding the ensign wasp, many of the sightings have been the southeastern US (east Texas to Florida). We also have them in Arizona. Thanks for this fine site, ISU, It's been a useful resource many times.

… atingle, 11 August, 2016 - 2:04pm

Welcome

Beautiful image (we love the blue eyes!) and interesting commentary. Should initiate a nice series of comments from which we can all learn some more. Look forward to more images from you.

… john and jane balaban, 17 April, 2005 - 10:47am

Thanks

I have a million bug shots like this one (actually much better ones) but I will probably have to get them identified first, I appreciate the comments, I live here in south florida, if there is a bug that is hard to find or that you guys want a better shot of, let me know and maybe I can find it and get a great shot of it to post here for the data banks.
These are such interesting creatures, the ensign wasp, it does a really neat dance with its antanae and abdomen. The first one I saw I swatted at because my oldest son is allergic to bees and wasp bites, but these are so docile and they even pose for me nice, plus anything that helps kill roaches in south florida is a friend of mine!! LOL

Thanks for the welcome guys, I was a little nervous at first, you guys seem to really know what you are talking about and I am just a beginner.

Charles

… Charles Weber, 17 April, 2005 - 8:16pm

Nice Shot!

..Better than mine:) These are interesting critters aren't they? Welcome Charles!

… Tony DiTerlizzi, 17 April, 2005 - 3:53pm

I see these things in my house!!

Hello,
this is my photo and my first post here, I hope I am doing this correctly. Well, I see these little guys every 10-20 days in my house, but I haven't seen a roach in my house for a over a year, so my question is do these wasps parasite other insects as well?? Because I always see a large spider in the top corner of my wall the day before I see the ensign wasps. Well I am happy to have found this site, I am a photographer also, so I hope I can contribute to this site.

Thanks

Charles

… Charles Weber, 16 April, 2005 - 11:30pm

Amazing!

My compliments on the image, too! This is probably Evania appendigaster, one of at least two introduced species in this family, the other being Prosevania fuscipes, which is NOT known from Florida, but is very common in urban areas elsewhere in the eastern U.S.

… Eric R. Eaton, 18 April, 2005 - 9:15pm

Thanks for the compliment! I

Thanks for the compliment!
I am really interested in this species, especially because I can't find much information about them. I want to know if they actually have a stinger, or if they bite... for some reason the ones that I find in my house are super gentle and even land on me, they do this crazy looking dance with their antanae and back end.. kind of like a wasp cha-cha... but they don't seem agressive at all, does anyone know where to find more information about these interesting creatures?

Charles

… Charles Weber, 19 April, 2005 - 11:48pm

cockroach parasite

This has a pretty good lowdown on these things (1st result on google search):

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/BI036

They are parasites of cockroaches so I'd welcome them into my home, but unfortunately their presence is probably evoked by the presence of the roaches themselves. They don't sting and you can even hold them between your fingers without having to worry about any biting or other aggressions.

… spezzafer, 30 April, 2005 - 1:38am

Cockroach Eggs Parasite

Thank for the information regarding these little buggers. I thought I had found something new crawling in my office cubicle in Richardson, Texas. A shame the little guy got lost his life so I could get a good look at it and the fact that I wasn't sure if it would sting as it was clearly a species of wasp. Hope to see another one day.

… DNadler1022, 22 July, 2013 - 10:21pm