Africa Wild

Brown Commodore Junonia natalica natalica Natal-gesiggie


Very pretty and well captured, you rock

A lucky shot or two!

Not only that, you managed to capture upper- and underside.

You are on the way to become an identification photographer

Id-photographers don't care about good light or composition, but focus on the ID-features (and don't do post-editing to enhance colours etc)

I don't change colours either!

Anything you can offer on this one? It’s the only shot I got of it - Kruger in May.




I tried looking into Braconidae and Ichneumonidae due to the "stinger", but got nowhere - the antennae are strange

ExFmem wrote: ↑Thu Jul 16, 2020 11:35 pm Anything you can offer on this one? It’s the only shot I got of it - Kruger in May.




I tried looking into Braconidae and Ichneumonidae due to the "stinger", but got nowhere - the antennae are strange

ExFmem

Some hints for you on offer:

Fig tree nearby?

Size supertiny?

Note the flat head (she would get stuck with a large head)

Note the horn on the 3rd segment of the antenna (a tool like a can opener of a swiss army knife) - it can be used as a crowbar in lifting something

I hope you can guess know what it is - very cool find and splendid photo

I assume it's one of the fig wasps (since you spoon fed me ), Family Agaonidae, but no idea which one. (A photo of a Philotrypesis sp. looks similar, but there appear to be MANY members of that Family).

It was very small, and under a tree with some type of fruits on the ground (fig, I presume ).

How did you know to look at fig wasps to begin with? You're one smart cookie .

The dead ones on waspweb are not useful for ID, here a photo of a not dead one:

https://www.nhm.ac.uk/our-science/data/ ... s&isVideo=

Ceratosolen arabicus the pollinator of the Sycamore fig

ExFmem wrote: ↑Fri Jul 17, 2020 3:43 pm

How did you know to look at fig wasps to begin with?

Flat head, horn on the antenna.

Any ideas what the antenna tool is used for ?

Pretty fascinating stuff! I haven't read a whole lot, but will do so tonight. Here is a snippet mentioning the antennae, but not really its purpose. I assume (until I read further) the tool must be for entry or exit of the fig, or some such. Too cool

How then do these tiny wasps that only live for a few days manage to perform their amazing task of finding and pollinating flowers that are hidden inside the fig? Female fig wasps leaving the fig they have bred in need to fly off in search of another fig tree to continue the reproductive cycle, often a long and arduous journey, which only a few individuals out of thousands manage successfully. This remarkable feat is achieved by homing in on host tree-specific volatiles, a chemical signal released by the fig when it is receptive for pollination. Completion of this journey is the first test of endurance, as once the pollinator has located a receptive fig, she needs to circumvent the next barrier. The only link the fig cavity has to the outside world is through a tiny bract-lined opening at the apex of the fig, called the ostiole, and it is by means of this passage that the pollinating fig wasp gains access to the florets. Negotiating the ostiole is no easy task, with the female wasp having to squeeze and labour her way between the tightly closed bracts. She is, however, remarkably adapted to do so. Her body, in particular her head and thorax, is extremely flattened and elongate. She also has rows upon rows of backward pointing teeth on her mandibular appendage, situated on the underside of her head, as well as a few strong teeth on her legs. These teeth assist her progress through the ostiole and also prevent her slipping backwards. Nevertheless, the process of gaining access to the fig cavity is so difficult that her wings and antennae usually break off in the ostiole, but this fortunately does not influence her pollinating or egg-laying ability.