The male WOWBug (actual size 1.2 mm) is lighter-colored and blind, with vestigial wings and club-shaped antennae.
The male WOWBug (actual size 1.2 mm) is lighter-colored and blind, with vestigial wings and club-shaped antennae.
The female WOWBug (actual size 1.2 mm) is darker-colored, has straight antennae, and has working eyes and wings.
Meet the WOWBugs — harmless, easily maintained insects about the size of ants or Drosophila fruit flies. (The images here are definitely not actual size!) Their scientific name is Melittobia digitata and they are members of the Eulophidae family of Hymenoptera (the insect order that includes all the bees, wasps, and ants). Common across North America, WOWBugs have relatives almost everywhere in the world. In nature, they are parasites on various larger, solitary-nesting (non-social) bees and wasps. For more information about them, visit the official WOWBugs website.
Many features of the strange WOWBug life history make them well suited for classroom and laboratory studies. Whether using WOWBugs as a classroom activity for grades 5-12, a laboratory exercise for college undergraduates, a science fair project, or independent research, Riverview Press has the instructional materials you need. The insects themselves are available both commercially (through Carolina Biological Supply) and as a catch-your-own project.