Giant 'warrior wasp' discovered! - Jaws larger than it's Legs

Warning: Imbedded Picture of Giant Scary Wasp

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/0118f6cacf2b.jpg[/atsimg]

Giant 'warrior wasp' discovered with jaws longer than its legs The wasp, discovered on the remote Indonesian island of Sulawesi, is being called the 'Komodo dragon' of the wasp family.

It sounds like a creature envisioned in a B-grade horror movie: a giant, predatory wasp with jaws so large that they drag when it walks.
But that's exactly what entomologist Lynn Kimsey of the University of California, Davis, encountered during a recent expedition to the remote Indonesian island of Sulawesi, according to the UC Davis Department of Entomology.
The new species, dubbed a "warrior wasp" due to its huge ninja-like mandibles, is a terrifying sight up close.
It is also being called the "Komodo dragon" of the wasp family due to its intimidating size. Males can measure in at over two and a half inches, jaws included.

Wow, look at this thing. It's huge. Almost three inches in size? Massive jaws? This island sounds like a place to avoid - unless you're a masochistic entomologist. One would tear a nice hole in your arm, I'm guessing the width of maybe even a dime. Imagine fifty of these things?

This island is beginning to sound like the Galapagos for insects....

The wasp was discovered in the Mekongga Mountains in southeastern Sulawesi, a little-explored Indonesian island between Borneo and New Guinea that Kimsey has called "one of the world's top three islands for biodiversity — that along with Australia and Madagascar."

Aside from wasps of legendary size, the island is also home to dwarf buffalo called anoa, palm civets, and colonial spider webs that can stretch for acres. Kimsey is part of a team of researchers who received a five-year, $4 million grant to study the island's rich biodiversity.

So far in her three trips to Sulawesi, she estimates that hundreds — maybe even thousands — of new species could be catalogued. Kimsey hopes that the discovery of the warrior wasp and other surprising new animals will help raise awareness of how unique and precious the region is.

"There's talk of forming a biosphere reserve to preserve this," she said. "There are so many rare and endangered species on Sulawesi that the world may never see."

Source

Still lots to explore in this world.
Another kidney-shot to Google Earth, I think.

That's a huge wappy but I think the Japanese hornet could kick it's head.

Glad neither live in Scotland.

hey could i have a link to the source?

reply to post by OUNjahhryn


Done and done.

Great, now we need Raid AND baseball bats to fight off these things.
No need for CGI if they can catch enough of these and make an ATTACK OF THE KILLER WASPS movie.

The only movies with giant wasps now are for White Anglo Saxon Protestants.

reply to post by ThinkingCap


YIKES! I hate waspers. I do NOT want to be around that thing.

I am trying to find a video of these spiders that make acre-long webs. This sounds equally as insane as this wasp.

If I saw one of these wasps I'd start making silver fly swatters.

Amazing find indeed.

More pictures with a view from the front here.

I wonder if this species kills whole bee hives too.

That is a pretty scary looking critter.

I'm still more affraid of cicada killers though. They are right here in Texas. I've seen some about 3 inches long if there are alot of cicadas around for them to hunt.

saltthesandbox.org...

In Central Texas, I try and steer clear of dobson flys.

en.wikipedia.org...

The dobson fly larvae, helgamites, make a killer fish bait. Catfish love them.

Originally posted by wigit
That's a huge wappy but I think the Japanese hornet could kick it's head.

I would really like to see that battle!

In the name of science.

reply to post by ThinkingCap

This island is beginning to sound like the Galapagos for insects....

Nature is scary!



Seriously though, pretty amazing the diversity of life

I'm just waiting for the first research batch to escape and start colonizing North America, just like the Africinized Honeybee.

Here's another view of this Warrior Wasp!

reply to post by dainoyfb


Well since wasps apparently battle bees, that would kinda solve the issue of the africanized honey bees

reply to post by TheEnlightenedOne


I am pretty sure that picture was to scale too!!

Insects like wasps, spiders and butterflies are pretty scary stuff!!

Yes they are all insects.

Originally posted by JibbyJedi
Great, now we need Raid AND baseball bats to fight off these things.

Like this? Fly spray, tennis bat, and a stick.

Photo taken about 7 years ago. i193.photobucket.com...

Originally posted by Bobaganoosh
...

en.wikipedia.org...

The dobson fly larvae, helgamites, make a killer fish bait. Catfish love them.

edit on 28-8-2011 by Bobaganoosh because: oops link was crap.

OMG. I was at South Padre a couple of years back and I felt something stinging on my arm. By the time I realized it, one of these suckers chewed a hole in my arm down to the meat!

Looks straight out of a sci-fi movie. I would use the raid, but hold a lighter to the nozzle first, then spray. ^_^

I am waiting for the poorly inserted, non-CGI lizard to come in and battle it.

Indonesian island of Sulawesi

That is a place I will never go no matter what.

I wonder if monsanto crap can deal with that

I'd say it's just a cool bug that we get to find out about. Unless you experience it in person, one shouldn't be too judgmental. The jaw could be an adaptation for a specific kind of prey.

Some insects look scary as heck, but when you're near them they'd rather have nothing to do with people at all. For instance, I've stood within 1ft of a cicada killer wasp (I was trying to get a photo of it, but it kept moving) but it never made an attempt to land on me or fly in an aggressive manner. Now if you look at pictures of them, they're rather large (almost 2 inches) and also have a large stinger in relation to their body size. But unless you actually try to catch it or somehow manage to step on it, the insect will leave you alone. Despite it's menacing appearance, the behavior is totally different than actual aggressive insects like yellow jackets or paper wasps. Unlike those species, you can get right next to its nest and it will just ignore you.