This little one was stuck inside a pane of glass in my mother-in-law's green house outside Härnösand, sweden, so I decided to help it out.
For lifting it out, I ddn't use any jar or box and just used my hand instead, fully expecting it to fly off as soon as we neared the door.
But to my surprise, the wasp decided that this was an excellent time to clean its antennae and began grooming them there on my finger - allowing me to get a whole bunch of shots of it.
This is a female of one of the species in the Chrysis ignita complex, a group of species which look very similar and not possible to tell apart from my photos. Still a lovely little find, wouldn't you say?
For linke to a bunch more shots of the same wasp plus details on camera/lens/settings used for the shot, please have a look here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/54963342639/

Beautiful picture! 🤩
I had no idea wasps came in such striking colors! Stunning.
Thank you.
Yes, cuckoo wasps (aka emerald wasps) are little colour bombs. You can find 60+ shots of such here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/albums/72157671974586906/
Great collection of pics. The wasps with that striking magenta abdomen is so pretty, and the one's with the green are too. I found the rainbow one unbelievably pretty. Seems like each one is lovelier that the next!
Cheers. The rainbow one is probably my fav as well, but the green one is special to me because it turned out to be so incredibly rare - other than this one, it was spotted once in southern Sweden in the 90s and before that not at all since the mid 1850s which in downright weird. 😊
Then that photo is extra special if it's that rare. It's incredible that you not only saw one with your own eyes, but be able to take the photo too! Your username is perfect for this! 😃
Normally not a fan of wasps but it looks beautiful! Great photo
Thank you for posting and sharing this, I don't know why this post made me happy.
The world is chaotic right now and even through all the craziness and noise, nature reminds us daily of all the beauty and joy there is still yet to discover.
I like to fill my feed with lots of animal, science, nature subs in addition to current events, and I get so much pleasure at viewing beautiful and pleasing things. It's my way of staying balanced and finding happiness in the world.
Also, this cuckoo wasp really is stunning, the colors are so vibrant!
That's great to hear. 😊
Good god that is a beautiful photo. Camera and lens specs?
Glad you like it.
Canon 5Ds, Canon MP-E65mm set to 1.5:1 magnification, Godox V8600III flash with a homemade diffuser, ISO200, 1/200s and f/11.
Here's another shot of the same guy: https://www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/52287790928/
Omg she’s gorgeous!