Rare wasp

Tachytes Square-headed Wasp-- 8/3/08
Photo by Ellen Michaels http://www.ellenmichaelsphotos.com

You've heard of bird-watchers and butterfly-watchers. You may even know that there are a number of devoted moth-watchers to be found. But did you know there is a passionate little community of wasp-watchers in Central Park? They have been studying the surprising diversity of wasps to be found in our urban enclave, and every once in a while they discover a really rare one. The one pictured above was found and identified last Monday by Nick Wagerik who is also, as it happens, a bird-, butterfly- and moth-watcher, to say nothing of a dragonfly-watcher, a beetle-watcher, and an everything-else- watcher: an incredible resource for the Central Park nature community.