Wasps > Wasps Index

Australia is home to many thousands of native wasp species, plus a few introduced and feral species. Whilst some species of wasp live in groups, many species of wasps are solitary, such asthe Potter Wasp (Delta latreillei). They also come in a variety of colours, shapes and sizes, and some with unusual common names such as the Velvet Ants, whose female of the species are wingless and hairy.

Click on the following images to see information on the wasps.

Abispa ephippium (Mud-nest Wasp) and Delta latreillei (Orange Potter Wasp), Alice Springs NT
Australian Large Wasps
Potter Wasp (Eumenes latreilli) at mud nest, Alice Springs
Australian Mud Nest Wasps
Mud Dauber/Orange Potter Wasp (Abispa ephippium), Alice Springs, NT
Mud Wasp
Velvet Ants - Australia
Velvet Ants
Mud Wasp (Abispa ephippium), Alice Springs, NT
Abispa ephippium
Acarozumia amaliae, South Ulladulla NSW © Phil Warburton
Acarozumia amaliae
Aulacid Wasps (family Aulacidae), Kallangur, SE QLD © Michael Cawdrey
Aulacidae
Australodynerus wasp, Midwest Geraldton WA © Gary Taylor
Australodynerus
Sand Wasp (genus Bembix), Owen Springs Reserve, NT © Dorothy Latimer
Bembix
Sand Wasp (subfamily Bembicinae), Alice Springs, NT
Bembicinae
Blue Hairy Flower Wasp (family Scoliidae, genus Austroscolia), Alice Springs NT
Blue Hairy Flower Wasp
Callibracon sp Braconid Wasp (family Braconidae), Midwest WA © Gary Taylor
Braconidae
Australospathius (genus), Doryctinae (subfamily of the Braconidae), Coffs Harbour NSW © Lachlan Copeland
Australospathius sp, Doryctinae (subfamily)
Callibracon sp Braconid Wasp, Enoggera Reservoir QLD © Iskander Kaliananda
Callibracon sp (Braconid Wasp)
Chrysididae, genus Stilbum (Cuckoo Wasp), Midwest WA © Gary Taylor
Chrysididae
Large Cuckoo Wasp (Stilbum cyanurum), Ballandean QLD © Marc Newman
Large Cuckoo Wasp (Stilbum cyanurum)
Orange Spider Wasp (Cryptocheilus bicolor), Alice Springs NT
Cryptocheilus bicolor (Orange Spider Wasp)
Potter Wasp (Eumenes latreilli) at mud nest, Alice Springs
Delta latreillei (Potter Wasp)
Delta philantes – Wasp, Alice Springs NT
Delta philantes
Eumeninae sp, Alice Springs, NT
Eumeninae
Orange-collared Spider Wasp (Ferreola handschini)
Ferreola handschini (Orange-collared Spider Wasp)
Thynnid Wasps mating, Santa Teresa Rd, Central Australia © Dorothy Latimer
Flower Wasps
Gasteruptiid Wasp (family Gasteruptiidae), Ballandean QLD © Marc Newman
Gasteruptiid Wasp
Yellow Hairy Flower Wasp (Radumeris radula), Alice Springs NT
Hairy Flower Wasps
Hatchet Wasp (Szepligetiella sp), Geraldton, Midwest WA © Gary Taylor
Hatchet Wasp (Szepligetiella sp)
Genus Isodontia (Grass-carrying Wasp), Ballandean QLD © Marc Newman
Isodontia (Grass-carrying Wasp)
Orchid Dupe Wasp (Lissopimpla excelsa), Brisbane QLD © Marc Newman
Lissopimpla excelsa (Orchid Dupe Wasp)
Genus Aglaotilla, Samsonvale QLD © Tony Eales
Mutillidae
Genus Aglaotilla, Samsonvale QLD © Tony Eales
Aglaotilla
Bothriomutilla rugicollis (Mutillid wasp), Cookernup WA © Carl Richards
Bothriomutilla rugicollis (Mutillid wasp)
Velvet Ant (tribe (Dasymutillini) - about 20 mm long, Midwest WA © Gary Taylor
Dasymutillini
Paralastor sp, Alice Springs NT
Paralastor sp
Pseudabispa bicolor ssp. nigrocinctoides, Alice Springs, NT
Pseudabispa bicolor ssp. nigrocinctoides
Yellow Hairy Flower Wasp (Radumeris radula), Alice Springs NT
Radumeris radula (Yellow Hairy Flower Wasp)
Yellow Hairy Flower Wasp (Radumeris tasmaniensis)
Radumeris tasmaniensis (Yellow Hairy Flower Wasp)
Sceliphron laetum filling a cell in the mud nest with paralysed spiders for the larva, Alice Springs NT
Sceliphron laetum
Sericophorus metallescens, Geraldton, Midwest WA © Gary Taylor
Sericophorus metallescens
Thynnid Wasps mating, Santa Teresa Rd, Central Australia © Dorothy Latimer
Thynnid Wasps
Male Flower Wasp (family Tiphiidae), ACT/NSW © Amie Lording
Tiphiidae
Paralastor sp, Alice Springs NT
Yellow and Black Wasp
  • Scientific classification
  • Kingdom: Animalia
  • Phylum: Arthropoda
  • Class: Insecta
  • Informal: Pterygotes
  • Order: Hymenoptera

Footnote & References

  1. Wasp Photos and Identification, Aussie Bee, https://www.aussiebee.com.au/wasp-photos.html
  2. What Wasp is that? An Interactive Identification Guide to the Australasian Families of Hymenoptera, by Nicholas B. Stevens, Claire J. Stephens, Muhammad Iqbal, John T. Jennings, John LaSalle, and Andrew D. Austin, Lucidcentral.org, https://keys.lucidcentral.org/keys/v3/what_wasp_is_that/key/What%20wasp%20is%20that/Media/Html/Hymenoptera%20key/FrontPage.htm
  3. Wasp, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wasp (last visited Dec. 11, 2021)
  4. Wasp Week, 20 May 2021, Author Kerri-Lee Harris, https://southernforestlife.net/happenings/category/Wasps
  5. Sand wasp puzzles: part 1, Species identification, Wasps, Author Kerri-Lee Harris, 15 February 2023, https://southernforestlife.net/happenings/2023/sandwasp-puzzles1
  6. Know your wasps, Atlas of Life, https://atlasoflife.org.au/resources/know-your-wasps

WaspsWasps Index Australian Large Wasps Australian Mud Nest Wasps Mud Wasp Velvet Ants Abispa ephippium Acarozumia amaliae Aulacidae Australodynerus Bembix Bembicinae Bethylidae Blue Hairy Flower Wasp Braconidae Chrysididae Cryptocheilus bicolor (Orange Spider Wasp) Delta latreillei (Potter Wasp) Eumeninae Delta philantes Ferreola handschini (Orange-collared Spider Wasp) Flower Wasps Gasteruptiid Wasp Hairy Flower Wasps Isodontia (Grass-carrying Wasp) Lissopimpla excelsa (Orchid Dupe Wasp) Mutillidae Paralastor sp. Pseudabispa bicolor ssp. nigrocinctoides Radumeris radula (Yellow Hairy Flower Wasp) Radumeris tasmaniensis (Yellow Hairy Flower Wasp) Sceliphron laetum Thynnid Wasps Tiphiidae Torymus Yellow and Black Wasp

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