Nigerian Driver Ant vs Copper-tailed Cuckoo Wasp

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Nigerian Driver Ant Copper-tailed Cuckoo Wasp
Scientific Name Dorylus nigricans Chrysis succincta
Order Hymenoptera Hymenoptera
Family Dorylidae Chrysididae
Size Workers 3-14 mm; queen up to 52 mm 5-9 mm
Habitat Rivers & Streams Woodlands
Diet Carrion Feeders Nectar Feeders
Regions West Africa, Central Africa Europe
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Nigerian Driver Ant

A large driver ant species with massive soldier caste bearing sickle-shaped mandibles. Raiding columns can stretch over 100 meters.

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Did You Know?

Their queens are the largest known ants in the world and can lay up to 4 million eggs per month.

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.