Waspzilla! The thing nightmares are made of...

[JayC]

Warrior wasp discovered in the jungle with jaws longer than its front legs | Mail Online

It sounds like the stuff of nightmares - a wasp that supplements a vicious sting with jaws longer than its front legs.

But this is a very real newly discovered warrior wasp found on the remote Indonesian island of Sulawesi.

Dubbed the 'Komodo dragon' of the wasp family, the males of the species measure two-and-a-half inches long.

Warrior wasp discovered in the jungle with jaws longer than its front legs | Mail Online

All of a sudden Indonesia doesn't seem so far away. :laughing: I can't even imagine what a bite from that thing must feel like. :shocked:A hive of those things must be enormous.

 

[jinman]

I think "jaws" is a misnomer. It's more like a hooked pincher to hold onto its prey while munching with the chewing beak seen directly below the antennae. However, that being said, I wonder how long the wasp's stinger is? It must look like a hypodermic needle. Yikes!

 

[CompactTractorFan]

Warrior wasp discovered in the jungle with jaws longer than its front legs | Mail Online

It sounds like the stuff of nightmares - a wasp that supplements a vicious sting with jaws longer than its front legs.

But this is a very real newly discovered warrior wasp found on the remote Indonesian island of Sulawesi.

Dubbed the 'Komodo dragon' of the wasp family, the males of the species measure two-and-a-half inches long.

Warrior wasp discovered in the jungle with jaws longer than its front legs | Mail Online

All of a sudden Indonesia doesn't seem so far away. :laughing: I can't even imagine what a bite from that thing must feel like. :shocked:A hive of those things must be enormous.

Wow...:confused2:

 

[Bartcephus]

You would need a 2x4 to swat those buggers. Can you imagine them hitting your windshiled at high speed?

 

[jinman]

Bart, you mean like grasshoppers? Two weeks ago, I was following a truck on a FM road. His wake caused the grasshoppers along the ROW to fly up and out over the roadway. My windshield and the front of my car was getting covered in grasshopper "splat." I passed the truck and immediately, the problem went away. I think that's the first time anything like that ever happened to me.

 

[JayC]

You would need a 2x4 to swat those buggers. Can you imagine them hitting your windshiled at high speed?

:laughing: I was thinking earlier that if those ever somehow entered the US, I would have to get some body armor. Additionally I would need a Saiga 12 with 20 round drum.

Bart, you mean like grasshoppers? Two weeks ago, I was following a truck on a FM road. His wake caused the grasshoppers along the ROW to fly up and out over the roadway. My windshield and the front of my car was getting covered in grasshopper "splat." I passed the truck and immediately, the problem went away. I think that's the first time anything like that ever happened to me.

Good thing you didn't have a convertible! :confused2: I don't even like rolling the window down because of the possibility something might come in. However, the AC doesn't work, so I gotta roll it down.

 

[scoutcub]

Soooo...how long before the movie comes out.....???:laughing::laughing:

 

[sunshine coaster]

That thing is awesome, wonder if it can breed with its cousins???

 

[whistlepig]

There are very few critters around that haven't bitten me in my lifetime. Luckily I don't seem allergic to the things that bite me except for this critter. They hang out in our pine/spruce trees. A baby one of these about 1/4" long dropped out of a tree while I was mowing and bit my hand. It took a month to heal and I lost a hunk of my hand about the size of marble. The adults are about two inches long. I have had the adults land on me also but have been lucky enough not to be bitten by one. A wasp, bumblebee, or honeybee? No problem. This thing will tear you up. They are called an Assassin Bug. We call 'em Wheel Bugs. They scare me.

 

[dodge man]

Whistlepig, those are called "Wheel Bugs". I noticed them around our place a few years ago and looked them up online. They very rarely bite people, which is a good thing, since there bite it pretty bad, as you discovered. They are viscous looking also.