Hi,

There have been many spider wasps around lately. Dark blue, twitchy, and always
on the hunt for poor, unsuspecting arachnids in which they can lay their eggs.

But today I saw something a bit different... It looked kind of like a small,
dark wolf spider. Between 5/8 inch to 2.25 cm in diameter, including legs. Its
thorax was larger than its abdomen, and it was a dark blue color. And it had
tiny wings. WTF? It had /wings/, yet it also had long legs like a spider. What
tf did I see? I went to get my phone to take a shot, but by the time I came back
out there was nothing there but a regular wolf-like spider.

I'm not the only one who saw it, so I'm not crazy this time, haha.

I suppose that it's possible - with my slowly failing eyesight - I saw a spider
wasp in the process of securing another victim, but I don't think so. This thing
looked like a singular entity. Half spider, half wasp.

I tried to search for such a thing, but did not turn up anything remotely
resembling this beast.

Sam

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On 9/23/21 7:58 PM, Samuel B. wrote:
> Hi,
> 
> There have been many spider wasps around lately. Dark blue, twitchy, and always
> on the hunt for poor, unsuspecting arachnids in which they can lay their eggs.
> 
> But today I saw something a bit different... It looked kind of like a small,
> dark wolf spider. Between 5/8 inch to 2.25 cm in diameter, including legs. Its
> thorax was larger than its abdomen, and it was a dark blue color. And it had
> tiny wings. WTF? It had /wings/, yet it also had long legs like a spider. What
> tf did I see? I went to get my phone to take a shot, but by the time I came back
> out there was nothing there but a regular wolf-like spider.
> 
> I'm not the only one who saw it, so I'm not crazy this time, haha.
> 
> I suppose that it's possible - with my slowly failing eyesight - I saw a spider
> wasp in the process of securing another victim, but I don't think so. This thing
> looked like a singular entity. Half spider, half wasp.
> 
> I tried to search for such a thing, but did not turn up anything remotely
> resembling this beast.
> 
> Sam
> 

Aliens! :-)

No idea. Perhaps a deformity of some kind?

Bill P.

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Sounds horrifying; I'm glad it's not in *my* house. I have enough spiders to
contend with right now, inside and out. Must be the season for 'em. I *try* not
to be freaked-out by their creepiness, but it isn't easy. So far, it has been
"live and let live"...

**shudder**

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William F Pokorny <ano### [at] anonymousorg> wrote:
> On 9/23/21 7:58 PM, Samuel B. wrote:
> > (...) Half spider, half wasp (?)
>
> Aliens! :-)

Lol. Maybe!

Oh, I failed to mention that it had antennas. And I didn't count the legs or get
a good look at its eyes, but the wings were - as mentioned - tiny, but also
slightly different sizes.

> No idea. Perhaps a deformity of some kind?

Yes, I think it was some sort of deformed wasp. The uneven wings, along with the
long legs make me think so. Deformity is the only explanation that makes sense!

Sam

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"Kenneth" <kdw### [at] gmailcom> wrote:
> Sounds horrifying; I'm glad it's not in *my* house. I have enough spiders to
> contend with right now, inside and out. Must be the season for 'em. I *try* not
> to be freaked-out by their creepiness, but it isn't easy. So far, it has been
> "live and let live"...
>
> **shudder**

Haha! It wasn't in the house, it was drinking out of the cat's outdoor water
dish. I wasn't freaked out so much as mystified regarding its nature. (And I'm
still wondering...)

I also go by the ol' "live and let live" philosophy. Spiders especially, since
they tend to take care of chitinous pests. I guess that is why they're sometimes
referred to as spiderbros ;) The benign spiders get to stay. Every other spider
and creepy-crawly gets let outside, thanks to a plastic cylinder and card I keep
handy whenever something finds itself stuck in the house. Everything but
mosquitos. Those bloodsuckers tend to push their luck a bit. too. far. (But if
we find them around, it just means we've kept water stagnant somewhere and that
it needs to be either replaced/removed.)

Sam

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Op 25-9-2021 om 02:42 schreef Samuel B.:
> William F Pokorny <ano### [at] anonymousorg> wrote:
>> On 9/23/21 7:58 PM, Samuel B. wrote:
>>> (...) Half spider, half wasp (?)
>>
>> Aliens! :-)
> 
> Lol. Maybe!
> 
> Oh, I failed to mention that it had antennas. And I didn't count the legs or get
> a good look at its eyes, but the wings were - as mentioned - tiny, but also
> slightly different sizes.
>
The antennas /and/ the wings exclude it from the spiders imo.

>> No idea. Perhaps a deformity of some kind?
> 
> Yes, I think it was some sort of deformed wasp. The uneven wings, along with the
> long legs make me think so. Deformity is the only explanation that makes sense!
> > Sam
> 
> 


-- 
Thomas

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Thomas de Groot <tho### [at] degrootorg> wrote:
> Op 25-9-2021 om 02:42 schreef Samuel B.:
> > William F Pokorny <ano### [at] anonymousorg> wrote:
> >> On 9/23/21 7:58 PM, Samuel B. wrote:
> >>> (...) Half spider, half wasp (?)
> >>
> >> Aliens! :-)
> >
> > Lol. Maybe!
> >
> > Oh, I failed to mention that it had antennas. And I didn't count the legs or get
> > a good look at its eyes, but the wings were - as mentioned - tiny, but also
> > slightly different sizes.
> >
> The antennas /and/ the wings exclude it from the spiders imo.

You would be correct, lol.

Sam

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Op 05/10/2021 om 00:13 schreef Samuel B.:
> Thomas de Groot <tho### [at] degrootorg> wrote:
>> Op 25-9-2021 om 02:42 schreef Samuel B.:
>>> William F Pokorny <ano### [at] anonymousorg> wrote:
>>>> On 9/23/21 7:58 PM, Samuel B. wrote:
>>>>> (...) Half spider, half wasp (?)
>>>>
>>>> Aliens! :-)
>>>
>>> Lol. Maybe!
>>>
>>> Oh, I failed to mention that it had antennas. And I didn't count the legs or get
>>> a good look at its eyes, but the wings were - as mentioned - tiny, but also
>>> slightly different sizes.
>>>
>> The antennas /and/ the wings exclude it from the spiders imo.
> 
> You would be correct, lol.
> 
> Sam
> 

[Note: If everything in life was as simple as that....] :-)


-- 
Thomas

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"Samuel B." <stb### [at] hotmailcom> wrote:
> Hi,
>
> There have been many spider wasps around lately. Dark blue, twitchy, and always
> on the hunt for poor, unsuspecting arachnids in which they can lay their eggs.
>
> But today I saw something a bit different... It looked kind of like a small,
> dark wolf spider. Between 5/8 inch to 2.25 cm in diameter, including legs. Its
> thorax was larger than its abdomen, and it was a dark blue color. And it had
> tiny wings. WTF? It had /wings/, yet it also had long legs like a spider. What
> tf did I see? I went to get my phone to take a shot, but by the time I came back
> out there was nothing there but a regular wolf-like spider.
>
> I'm not the only one who saw it, so I'm not crazy this time, haha.
>
> I suppose that it's possible - with my slowly failing eyesight - I saw a spider
> wasp in the process of securing another victim, but I don't think so. This thing
> looked like a singular entity. Half spider, half wasp.
>
> I tried to search for such a thing, but did not turn up anything remotely
> resembling this beast.
>
> Sam

I know the feeling, I saw a couple of times some mini bees that were not bigger
than 3 or 4 millimeters and this felt unnatural.

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"Mr" <nomail@nomail> wrote:
> "Samuel B." <stb### [at] hotmailcom> wrote:
(...)
> > I tried to search for such a thing, but did not turn up anything remotely
> > resembling this beast.
>
> I know the feeling, I saw a couple of times some mini bees that were not bigger
> than 3 or 4 millimeters and this felt unnatural.

I would like to see those myself. Were they some sort of bee fly, perhaps?

Sam

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