Sunday, August 28, 2011

Discovered: the scariest-looking wasp on Earth

Wasps are pretty unsettling to most people. To entomologist Lynn Kimsey, though, the newest known species is something to marvel at, not just run away from.
Running away would be forgivable, though. From the island of Sulawesi comes a species whose males have jaws longer than its front legs. Kimsey, in perhaps an understatement, said, "The first time I saw the wasp, I knew it was something really unusual." The "Komodo dragon" of the wasp family is shiny black and 6.4cm long. Adds Kimsey, "I don't know how it can walk."

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