ong the most painful of any insect, but the intense pain only lasts for about 3 minutes.[ Commenting on his own experience, one researcher described the pain as "…immediate, excruciating pain that simply shuts down one's ability to do anything, except, perhaps, scream. Mental discipline simply does not work in these situations”. In terms of scale, the wasp's sting is rated near the top of the Schmidt Sting Pain Index, second only to that of the bullet ant and is described by Schmidt as "blinding, fierce [and] shockingly electric". Because of their extremely large stingers, very few animals are able to eat them; one of the few animals that can is the roadrunner.
The U.S. State of New Mexico chose the insect in 1989 to become its official state insect. The selection of the insect was prompted by a group of Edgewood, New Mexico, elementary school children doing research on states which had adopted state insects. They selected three insects as candidates, and mailed ballots to all schools for a state wide election. The winner was the Tarantula Hawk Wasp (specifically, Pepsis formosa).
The RQ-16 T-Hawk unmanned aerial vehicle has been named after the Tarantula Hawk.
Gall Wasps-Cynipidae. These tiny wasps are also called gallflies with about 1300 species worldwide. As indicated they are generally very small creature (1-8 millimeters).
The reproduction of the gall wasp is partly pure two-sex propagation and partly pure parthenogenesis, in which a male is completely unnecessary. With most species, however, there is an alternation of generations with one two-sex generation and one parthenogenic generation annually.
The plant galls mostly develop directly after the female insect lays the eggs. The reason for gall formation is largely unknown but is a result of the present of the developing gall insect; it is speculated that chemical, mechanical and viruses triggers the process. The hatching larvae feed within the tissue of the galls and are also well-protected from external environmental effects. The host plants and the si