Black-Headed Ash Sawfly vs Emerald Cockroach Wasp

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Black-Headed Ash Sawfly Emerald Cockroach Wasp
Scientific Name Tethida barda Ampulex compressa
Order Hymenoptera Hymenoptera
Family Tenthredinidae Ampulicidae
Size 6-8 mm 22 mm
Habitat Forests Forests
Diet Herbivores Nectar Feeders
Regions Eastern North America Africa, Asia, Oceania
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Black-Headed Ash Sawfly

A small sawfly whose larvae have distinctive black heads and whitish-green bodies. They feed on the underside of ash leaflets, skeletonizing them.

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Did You Know?

This species is often mistaken for moth caterpillars, but like all sawfly larvae, it has more than five pairs of prolegs on its abdomen.

Emerald Cockroach Wasp

A brilliant emerald-green wasp that zombifies cockroaches. It delivers precise stings to the cockroachs brain, removing its escape reflex. Then leads it by the antenna like a dog on a leash.

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Did You Know?

The emerald cockroach wasp performs neurosurgery — it stings a cockroach twice in precise brain locations to disable its escape reflex, then walks it to a burrow like a zombie.