A cuckoo wasp

[MarkSturtevant]

Here is a cuckoo wasp, Chrysis angolensis. Cuckoo wasps are parasitic on solitary bees and wasps. This was a rare occasion where one of these was actually standing still!

[AlxndrBrg]

Nice shot!

It is a Chrysis sp., but not C. angolensis, that is a much bigger and stockier animal, with shiny integument and a dark blue last tergite. This is some other species, perhaps a C. pattoni male, but ID'ing these wasps from pictures are next to impossible, there's too many similar species.

/A

EDIT: Had a look around, C. pattoni looks less likely, perhaps males of C. dugesi or C. montana? But I shouldn't even try to guess...

[Beatsy]

Beautiful capture.

I do sometimes wonder why we bother trying to differentiate species that look soooo similar when the only way to identify them is to (presumably) yark their genitals out for examination under the microscope.