Hummingcrow & Co.

  A Sparkling Green Discovery

Last month while doing some planting, I happened across this incredibly vibrant, metallic green cuckoo wasp (also called an “emerald wasp” for some reason). These shiny little insects cannot sting and have earned the named “cuckoo” because they lay their eggs in other insects' nests (usually other wasps), where their larvae eat the host's larvae & food stores as they grow (sound familiar?).

Here's a video I took of this little parasitoid getting a sense of its surroundings through its antennae:

If you think this green jewel is dazzling, take a look at some of its cousins. You can learn more about these fascinating wasps here.