by briang » 29 Jun 2021 11:51
I was so excited to have seen this species, which I learn is quite poorly known and rarely recorded in Italy (indebted to Paolo for the ID), that I returned to the site yesterday. Many hours waiting in hot sun was worth it when the wasp returned to the same patch of habitat. After two or three brief appearances (0.5 second?) during the middle to late part of the afternoon, it came again to the small plant to feed. Happily it came to a shaded part so some photos without dazzling reflections were possible. The plant attracted also Chrysis germari and a variety of other small wasps and flies. I learn it is a species of Hernaria, possibly H. glabra. The same genus is quite often seen in online images of chrysidids! Other specimens of the same plant nearby were not attracting visitors, presumably because nectar or other exudates were not available? The attached images have been reduced in size.
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