Newly discovered wasp species is the stuff of nightmares
On an expedition to the mountains of Indonesia, scientists have made a frightening discovery: a gigantic new species of wasp with jaws bigger than its own front legs.
Discovered in the Mekongga Mountains of Indonesia by entomologist Lynn Kimsey of the University of California, Davis, the unusual critter has the science world buzzing. The shiny black wasp has a huge body: more than two-and-a-half inches long on the male. But the real story is the insect’s massive jaws.
“Its jaws are so large that they wrap up either side of the head when closed,” says Kimsey. “When the jaws are open they are actually longer than the male’s front legs. I don’t know how it can walk.”
Kimsey has named the wasp Garuda after Indonesia’s national symbol, a mythical warrior that is part eagle, part human:
As you can see, the resemblance is uncanny, although the wasp may have a slight advantage in the ‘causes nightmares’ department.
Little is known about the terrifying new species, but Kimsey has speculated on some of its behaviours: “the jaws are big enough to wrap around the female’s thorax and hold her during mating.”
Isn’t that charming? Kimsey also says the wasp is known to feed on other insects, a process that I can only assume is both gruesome and horrifying.
Now, in case you’re still not thoroughly disturbed, here’s one last look at the nasty little sucker. Enjoy!
(Photos by Andrew Richards, Bohart Museum of Entomology and Kathy Keatley Garvey)
[Source: University of California, Davis Department of Entomology, Via: Science News Blog]
It’s a bug…hit it,stomp on it or whatever…a dead bug is a good bug!!
Wow…just wow…I read the article and saw the pics and thought “Hmm this is interesting”, didn’t necessarily find it “terrifying” but then again I haven’t seen it in person. Then I read the comments and I mean seriously, the first few comments were about the article, and the rest? Not so much. Everyone just argued back and forth over, basically nothing. Which, if that’ what you wanna do, fine by me, I won’t fight you on that. The wasp definitely looks intense. I would certainly not really like to come face to face with it, but that aside it was a nice read.
I’m the case that’s not thoroughly disturbed .-.\
Case878, please explain the punctuation at the end of your sentence (.-.\). Is this new English punctuation, or what?
UGLY!!!!! hope this crtter stays in the tropics. All we need is to have another infestation of an insect from hell.
And as for the Canadian winter wiping it out should it get here….it didn’t do anything for the African bees…and now we have hybrid homey bees who are nasty!
With its 3-inch (7.6-centimeter) wingspan and quarter-inch (70-millimeter) stinger, the Japanese giant hornet is the world’s largest species of wasp. I thought you might enjoy this video if you find this article interesting.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/07/060720-hornets-video.html
ok the thing is very ugly. But as it has been said plant life needs them we need them.Their is alot of ugly things out their but we don’t just get rid of them just because they don’t appeal to us if we did my god the plant would be barren. If you are allergic to bees. That does not mean that you are allergic to wasps. As i am deadly allergic to bumble bees but not to the wasp. Their like any thing else in life just leave them alone and chanches are that they will leave you alone.
In the end of days we are supposed to be tormented by locusts……….
Locusts not wasps Nii
I hope the scientists don’t bring a bunch to North America to study. Then, if they do, I hope they don’t get out and mate with our already rather fear-inducing wasps to make super wasps.
is it weird that i want it as my pet… ouh well guess im one of those people that doesnt find it scary
Stop arguing god Dammit
I believe we have only “discovered” a small part of what is out there,(just the big stuff) as the locals probably were aware of this cute little bug long ago.
I like it.
As with anything different there will always be those who will be afraid of it until they get used to it.
Sure the bug has been sensationalized for effect but we all love a good story.
Kudos to the ones actually getting out there and finding things, it’s a lot of work (and a lot of fun)
There will always be those who miss the point of an announcement such as this, but I say just ignore it, and don’t let it “bug” you
Fascinating little bug, I bet the “jaws” could not harm us though and are probably more for display, like a peacock tail, who knows until some more observing is done.
Great pictures.
All i can say to you Ryan M is i think your right.these “jaws” could be for nothing more than mating as said in the article
I like stuff!
You said the jaws “wrap up either side their head” and you add later the jaws are longer than the front legs “I wonder how it can walk”. Well dah…
Anyway I think it would make a great tatoo:-)
Wait a minute OblivionMaster please explain what mosquitos do for the precious enviorment.They drink blood then have babies then they drink the blood of humans and the cycle goes on and on. The mosquitos pop. has almost beat records in Edmonton. Poor Saps
Mosquitos are food for other animals like fish.
Joefoo yes mosquitos are of almost no use to us humans, they are merely annoying little buggers that infect us with things like the west nile virus and marlia. But there are several animals and larger insects who use mosquitos as a source of food.
Mosquitofish eat them. they eat a maximum of 168 mosquito larve in an eight hour period.
Bats eat them. It is estimated that one bat eats 600 to 1000 insects including mosquitos within an hour.
Guppies eat them and don’t some people keep guppies as pets?
Birds eat them. some of the birds that do are Purple Martins, robins, and water fowl.
Lastly Dragon Flys eat them and they consume large ammounts of mosquitos.
As you can see Joefoo mosquitos act as food not only to these animals and insects but too many others im sure. So basically that’s their purpose as food.
Be it said, he will come, all insects come to Canada, look at the migration of cultures, everyone or thing is welcome to Canada.
Beware, specially Toronto.
Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha ! SOOOO TRUE!!
I’m severely allergic also. If they got over here, our cold would kill those little (big!) buggers – fingers crossed.
wow . there really making some steps in science and biology!
spider goats . cows that can produce human breast milk. human embrios growing in cows. so when there human is born its 5% cow so it has no rights.
bata testing mosquitoes to see if it can carry vaccines.
all under the secrecy of science.
i wonder what else they do behind closed doors.
oh hey maybe they can find a cure for cancer instead of f&%(king with nature and causeing disseases
I think that the biggest line to take into consideration here is “Little is known about the terrifying new species”. So if little is known about it, of course it’s terrifying. Looking back through history, there have been lots of terrifying things because we didn’t know anything, or not enough, about them. However, taken the time to study and observe we’re better informed. It seems to me that the article is written with a slant instead of a neutral position that it should have been written with.
This looks like a cross between a ant and wasp, some sort of genitic creation I would assume what else, they experiment on all sorts of creatures and insects I’m not surprised to see a so called new bug.
Can everybody just stop!?! It may or may not be the same creature. NOBODY KNOWS! Why don’t you focus on keeping your selves safe instead of worrying about other people. Steve O’s comment near the top says:
“With all this global trade going on…I am sure its just a matter of time before it makes its way on a shipping container.
: (”
He’s right. Spray your houses with wasp repellent and buy wasp or bee repellent to spray on your bodies! Well, if you live in or near the Mekongga Mountains of Indonesia. For the rest of us, we can wait until the shipping containers come by. :(