Fairy Wasp vs Thread-waisted Wasp

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Fairy Wasp Thread-waisted Wasp
Scientific Name Kikiki huna Ammophila sabulosa
Order Hymenoptera Hymenoptera
Family Mymaridae Sphecidae
Size 0.13-0.18 mm 16-24 mm
Habitat Underground Beaches & Coastal
Diet Parasitoids Predators
Regions North America, Oceania Europe, Asia
Conservation Data Deficient Least Concern

Fairy Wasp

One of the smallest known insects in the world at just 0.15 millimeters long.

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Did You Know?

It is smaller than some single-celled protozoans.

Thread-waisted Wasp

An elegant wasp with an extremely narrow petiole and red-banded abdomen. It hunts caterpillars and carries them clasped beneath its body to sandy burrows.

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Did You Know?

It uses a small pebble as a tool to tamp down the sand plug sealing its burrow, one of the earliest documented cases of tool use in insects.