Template:POTD/2011-02-05
A male Tiphiid wasp (Agriomyia sp.), feeding on nectar. Although the adults are nectarivores, the larvae are almost universally parasitoids of various beetle larvae. A female wasp will paralyze the victim and lay an egg on it. When the egg hatches, the wasp larva has a ready supply of food. As some of the scarab species attacked by tiphiids are pests, some of these wasps are considered beneficial as biological control agents.Photo: Fir0002