Copper-tailed Cuckoo Wasp vs Scarlet Robber Fly

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Copper-tailed Cuckoo Wasp Scarlet Robber Fly
Scientific Name Chrysis succincta Laphria flava
Order Hymenoptera Diptera
Family Chrysididae Asilidae
Size 5-9 mm 15-25 mm
Habitat Woodlands Woodlands
Diet Nectar Feeders Predators
Regions Europe Europe, Northern Asia
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Copper-tailed Cuckoo Wasp

A medium-sized cuckoo wasp with a metallic green forebody and a warm coppery-gold abdomen. It parasitizes the nests of cavity-nesting solitary bees.

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Did You Know?

Its heavy, pitted exoskeleton acts like armor plating, protecting it from the stings of host wasps defending their nests.

Scarlet Robber Fly

A bumblebee-mimicking robber fly covered in dense golden-yellow hair. It preys on insects visiting flowers at woodland edges.

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Did You Know?

Its dense yellow pile makes it one of the most convincing bumblebee mimics among robber flies.