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Photo#553118
Tiny Blue Wasp - Dryudella caerulea

Tiny Blue Wasp - Dryudella caerulea
Renton, WA, King County, Washington, USA
July 24, 2011
Size: 1/2"
Very unusual tiny blue wasp that seemed to be strangely attracted to a discarded blue backpack.

Moved
Moved from Dryudella.

Parker 1969 describes this species as being the only metallic-blue Dryudella, and distinctive from the rest of the genus.

 
Frank Parker just confirmed t
Frank Parker just confirmed the ID!

Moved
Moved from Astatinae.

Moved
Moved from Astatinae.

likely Dryudella caerulea
Dryudella caerulea is a possibility. They are metallic blue and are present in the Northwest.

Any possibility the color--ve
Any possibility the color--very similar to the insect--could be a source of attraction?

Moved
Moved from ID Request.

 
ID Request
Why has request been moved?

 
Well I moved it to the taxono
Well I moved it to the taxonomic category to which I could ID it... It is very likely a male Astata, but I am not sure if it might not be another genus. The males always sit on exposed places, like rocks, twigs, open sandy areas, or backpacks and they patrol their territory, while waiting for the females to fly by. It has less to do with the color than with it being a landmark the wasp is using..
Cheers
MArtin

 
ID
Thanks Martin. I just thought it odd that synthetic material, totally out of place, could be an attraction, and just happened to be almost the color of the insect (at least its bulbous eyes).

 
Wasp ID
Anyone know this one?

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