Hornet-eating wasp (SciiFii)

The hornet-eating wasp (Neosphex hamatum) is a species of parasitic wasp in the family Sphecidae that originally did not exist, but has since been created by SciiFii and introduced throughout Africa, Eurasia, North America, and South America to help boost biodiversity. The hornet-eating wasp is identified by the yellow pubescence on its head and thorax, its golden legs, and partly orangish yellow body. The hornet-eating wasp has a total length of about 6 to 9 millimeters. The stinger of the hornet-eating wasp is not adapted to sting non-athropod prey and the wasp is harmless to humans and other vertebrates. The larvae of the hornet-eating wasps feed on living insects that the females paralyze and carry to the underground nest. This wasp provisions its young with various types of paralyzed Orthoptera, Curculionidae and Scarabaeidae beetles, Blattodea, Mutillidae, Vespidae, and Culicidae, making the hornet-eating wasp an important biocontrol agent against stinging wasps, hornets (hence its name), cockroaches, many kinds of medium-to-large beetles, grasshoppers, crickets, and mosquitos. This species has a thick exoskeleton which protects it from the defensive stinging attacks of the host females, to enhance this defence the female hornet-eating wasp has a concave underside and it can curl itself into a defensive ball. If she finds an undefended nest she will reverse down the nest chimney to lay her eggs on the host. The host does not normally detect the hornet-eating wasp eggs and seals the nest up for the winter for the new adult parasitoids to emerge in the following summer. The conservation status of the hornet-eating wasp is Least Concern due to successful conservation efforts, the hornet-eating wasp's wide range and its tolerance to many of the human activities.