Groverdog 0 Posted July 16, 2007 Report Share Posted July 16, 2007 About 6am Sunday morning i was watching a right ruccas on the Buddelia. There were heaps of stable type flies being mobbed by what looked liked juvenile wasps (common). Looked in all the ID insect books i have and there is no info or anything else i could match them to. Can someone enlighten me - do common wasps hatch as full size adults or do they grow? I presumed because they have an exoskeleton they dont and that it must be a different species of flying insect ie hoverfly but they looked too small even for them. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
J Darcy 5,871 Posted July 16, 2007 Report Share Posted July 16, 2007 About 6am Sunday morning i was watching a right ruccas on the Buddelia. There were heaps of stable type flies being mobbed by what looked liked juvenile wasps (common). Looked in all the ID insect books i have and there is no info or anything else i could match them to. Can someone enlighten me - do common wasps hatch as full size adults or do they grow? I presumed because they have an exoskeleton they dont and that it must be a different species of flying insect ie hoverfly but they looked too small even for them. as far as i am aware mate, they leave the nest as full size wasps. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tikka T3 0 Posted July 16, 2007 Report Share Posted July 16, 2007 About 6am Sunday morning i was watching a right ruccas on the Buddelia. There were heaps of stable type flies being mobbed by what looked liked juvenile wasps (common). Looked in all the ID insect books i have and there is no info or anything else i could match them to. Can someone enlighten me - do common wasps hatch as full size adults or do they grow? I presumed because they have an exoskeleton they dont and that it must be a different species of flying insect ie hoverfly but they looked too small even for them. as far as i am aware mate, they leave the nest as full size wasps. wasps do not leave the nest as full grown adults these are quite a bit smaller than adults .i do many hundreds of nests a year and i do get a close look at many of them hope this helps t3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Guest The Big Fish Posted July 16, 2007 Report Share Posted July 16, 2007 Here is a picture of a juvenile wasp that i prepared earlier The inside of a nest Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Groverdog 0 Posted July 17, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 17, 2007 Were at it again this morning.(wondering now if they are competing for the sun spots as thats where the sun hits of a morning) Dont look like the pics youve got there so now i am really intrigued. Think i may have to catch one in a jar for closer examination. Seem to be very aggresive. Thanks for the replies. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
J Darcy 5,871 Posted July 17, 2007 Report Share Posted July 17, 2007 can wasps emerge looking different than that, perhaps depending on time of year because two months ago i managed to get a very small nest (about the size of a golf ball!) and the wasps inside the cells looked the very same as adults, but had white instead of yellow on their bodies....unless i am imagining it.... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
J Darcy 5,871 Posted July 17, 2007 Report Share Posted July 17, 2007 Took me a good while to troll through my images but this is what i have seen many times in the past. these wasps "look" like they are adult size (or there abouts) and are just lighter coloured. These still in comb and have yet to emerge Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Guest The Big Fish Posted July 17, 2007 Report Share Posted July 17, 2007 Well when ive disected a nest and had a good poke about all ive seen is the juvenile wasps like in the first picture that i posted, they are not striped like adult wasps. Mind you the nest that i took apart was 'vespa vulgaris' and not 'germans' so perhaps they are different. I will have to investigate further Here is one of the non stripey younglings emerging... These are the much bigger 'German' invaders Quote Link to post Share on other sites
J Darcy 5,871 Posted July 17, 2007 Report Share Posted July 17, 2007 HHmmmm.. maybe different types emerge at different times. the nest i found was on the floor under some turf... as you can see definately striped... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
martin 332 Posted July 17, 2007 Report Share Posted July 17, 2007 Well I've dug hundreds of wasp nests to use for fishing,and the grubs,although they are creamy coloured they are approximately the same size as an adult wasp.They do not/can not leave the nest until they are adult size/colour,as the exo skeleton has to dry out and harden.Try and get a photo up for us to have a look at Groverdog. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Groverdog 0 Posted July 18, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 18, 2007 Will do. Its a dull morning here today and they werent out. Went out with Jam jar and everything to try and catch one. Dont know if this narrows down ID but the buddelia is next to the box hedge from where they seem to emerge from but cant see a nest/bike. Live in North East scotland in hills (mainly heather, bracken etc surrounding us) They are very fast flying and acrobatic, smaller than stable type fly but certainly 'see them off'. Never there when i get home from work in afternoon just there in the early morning sun. Thanks for the help everyone in ID'ing these wont settle till i know what they are! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Groverdog 0 Posted July 18, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 18, 2007 Hi Millet, i haved just googled hoverfly and apparently there are 250 species of British hoverfly! My books only give at the most 15 species so guess alot more 'googling' required! Insect world fascinates me! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
J Darcy 5,871 Posted July 18, 2007 Report Share Posted July 18, 2007 Well I've dug hundreds of wasp nests to use for fishing,and the grubs,although they are creamy coloured they are approximately the same size as an adult wasp.They do not/can not leave the nest until they are adult size/colour,as the exo skeleton has to dry out and harden.Try and get a photo up for us to have a look at Groverdog. sounds like you have had the same experience as myself with then ....i too have dug up plenty for chubbing The wasps could grow i suppose ( but i am unclear on this ), but this means they must "shed" their body shell before filling out into a marginally bigger one, and i can find no record of them having done this... perhaps some experts amongst us can shed some light on the subject, can they "grow"?? or not?? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Groverdog 0 Posted July 19, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 19, 2007 From all the googling ive done the only hoverflies i can match them to are either chrysotuxum cautum (likes to sunbathe) or heliophilu pendulus (likes water) sorry still cant catch one to photo it as its still dull here and they are not about. Cant make a definate match on either till i match the exact markings. As for the question of 'growing' or not thats one i will definately be doing more research on! Thanks for all the replies everyone Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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