Wikipedia:Featured picture candidates/Scoliid wasp

Scoliid wasp
Voting period ends on 15 Jul 2024  at 20:35:35 (UTC)
 * Reason:High quality large image. Adds EV to articles. FP on Commons.
 * Articles in which this image appears:Scolia hirta, Scolia (wasp)
 * FP category for this image:Featured pictures/Animals/Insects
 * Creator:Charlesjsharp


 * Support as nominator – Charlesjsharp (talk) 20:35, 5 July 2024 (UTC)
 * Support Adam Cuerden (talk)Has about 8.8% of all FPs. 06:54, 7 July 2024 (UTC)
 * Comment. Charles, are you certain that this is Scolia hirta unifasciata? I know very little about scoliid wasps, but the fact that the antennae are bright yellow rather than black doesn't seem to match that species, and the two separate yellow spots on the abdomen (rather than a single yellow band, as the Latin name implies) gave me pause. There are over 900 photos labeled Scolia hirta on Flicker (including some of the subsp. unifasciata), and I scrolled quickly through all of them looking for a parallel. While I did find a some individuals in which the abdominal dots had not fully fused into solid band, I didn't find a single instance of yellow antennae. When I widened my search to other Mediterranean scoliids, however, I came across a number of photos of Megascolia bidens that seem to match your wasp exactly. The female of that species has four yellow abdominal spots and short reddish antennae, but the male has only two spots and long bright yellow antennae. Compare these photos:, , , , , , . All of these are identified as Megascolia bidens, and all of them seem to me to be a better fit for your wasp than Scolia hirta. I also found this paper, which confirms that M. bidens is found in Tunisia, where your photo was taken, and describes the distinguishing features of the species, including the yellow antennae and two abdominal spots on the male. I'm no expert, and I don't want to substitute my judgment for yours, but take a look at the photos and the paper and see what you think. Choliamb (talk) 21:11, 7 July 2024 (UTC)
 * Thank you very much Choliamb for your hard work and correct analysis. There is a great danger in relying on others' identification and I fell into this trap. Charlesjsharp (talk)


 * Error in identification Charlesjsharp (talk) 13:52, 8 July 2024 (UTC)

--Armbrust The Homunculus 04:07, 9 July 2024 (UTC)
 * Withdrawn nomination. Armbrust The Homunculus 04:07, 9 July 2024 (UTC)