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‘Komodo Dragon of Wasps’: New Wasp Species Has Jaws Bigger Than Its Legs!

Mar. 28, 2012 10:11am

Coming across any ordinary wasp is often enough to make even the toughest individual cautiously turn the other direction, but a new species identified in Indonesia will have them sprinting away. If its size isn’t the kicker, the fact that its jaws are longer than its legs will put your legs in motion.

New Indonesian Wasp Species Has Jaws Longer Than Legs

M. garuda is two inches long. (Photo: Lynn Kimsey and Michael Ohl)

Found by University of California-Davis entomologist Lynn Kimsey, a new insect has been described as the “Komodo Dragon of wasps.” Kimsey discovered the wasp last year but it was recently confirmed as a new species, which she has named Gardua, meaning “king of birds” in Indonesian.

According to National Geographic, Megalara garuda is two inches long and its “sickle-shaped” jaws are larger than its own legs. Even more terrifying, the male species has spikes on its jaws, presumably for defense and reproduction. The Daily Mail reports Kimsey saying, “I don’t know how it can walk”:

“Its jaws are so large that they wrap up either side of the head when closed. When the jaws are open they are actually longer than the male’s front legs.”

[...]

“In another species in the genus the males hang out in the nest entrance. This serves to protect the nest from parasites and nest robbing, and for this he exacts payment from the female by mating with her every time she returns to the nest. So it’s a way of guaranteeing paternity. Additionally, the jaws are big enough to wrap around the female;s thorax and hold her during mating.”

New Indonesian Wasp Species Has Jaws Longer Than Legs

(Photo: Lynn Kimsey and Michael Ohl)

Watch this Yahoo News! report on the wasp:

If you happen to be in Indonesia, you may not have to worry about one of these creatures buzzing by you. Kimsey said that so far all the specimens they have found have been dead. Kimsey cites replacing their forest habitat with crop farming as a potential factor in the death of these wasps. Kimsey said it makes her “sick to my stomach” to think of this newly discovered species’ population declining due to human activity.

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Comments (73)

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  • garylee123
    Posted on March 28, 2012 at 8:55pm

    ” Kimsey said it makes her “sick to my stomach” to think of this newly discovered species’ population declining due to human activity.”
    Jeez…you just found the dang thing and were killing it already. Maybe there is a bigger one out there killing it and your human blaming brain can’t find it.

    Report this comment

    garylee123  
    • Livia
      Posted on March 28, 2012 at 11:22pm

      I am one of those people that on being stung, I have to hit the ER or have a bee sting kit nearby. That thing is a monster, and if one came near me, all you could see would be backside and heels!

      Report this comment

      Livia  
    • PCAReformed-N-OK
      Posted on March 29, 2012 at 1:02am

      Please be aware that this may not apply to Lynn Kimsey but I simply do not understand why people who believe in evolution are sad when they actually see species going extinct as a result of “human activity”. On the one hand, they champion the mechanisms of evolution and claim it is the way nature truly operates but, on the other hand, they get upset if a species cannot survive passed the activity of another organism. Which is it?

      Report this comment

      PCAReformed-N-OK  
    • Winedude
      Posted on March 29, 2012 at 1:40am

      Read the story…all the specimen have been found dead.

      Report this comment

      Winedude  
    • friendfor truth
      Posted on March 29, 2012 at 10:28am

      I am so sick of the enviromentalist approach to this kind of stuff. The wasp is not dead because of humans. I’m sure the wasp will find a way to survive if it supposed to be that way. Personally, I’m glad it’s dead. That thing scares me just to look at it. I can’t imagine what its sting would feel like!! Good ridance, I say……

      I’m sure there’s some animal or other insect on the food chain that would be glad to have this wasp as a meal.

      Report this comment

      friendfor truth  
    • UNIX_Techie
      Posted on April 21, 2012 at 2:43pm

      So all the specimens she found happened to be dead. And the species is newly discovered. Perhaps she only discovered it because she found dead ones. There may be nests of these things all over Indonesia that she just hasn’t seen. And anyway who wants 2 inch wasps around. The local people probably kill them so they don’t have them buzzing around while they are working in the fields.

      People like this believe that human’s don’t belong here. Only the trees and plants and creeping things belong here. They believe that we are invaders of the earth.

      Report this comment

      UNIX_Techie  
    • teamarcheson
      Posted on April 21, 2012 at 5:44pm

      The place is was found should be nuked. Kill all of them now before they spread. Kill them.

      Report this comment

      teamarcheson  
  • Aerocog
    Posted on March 28, 2012 at 8:25pm

    Ah, it’s a “tracker jacker”!!!

    Report this comment

    Aerocog  
  • gw76
    Posted on March 28, 2012 at 8:22pm

    tracker jacker

    Report this comment

    gw76  
  • Zwiseguy
    Posted on March 28, 2012 at 8:19pm

    Yikes! Glass walls are going to kill us! We must fight them with wasps!

    Report this comment

    Zwiseguy  
  • TROONORTH
    Posted on March 28, 2012 at 8:07pm

    On word comes to mind – Raid!

    Report this comment

    TROONORTH  
    • Gravejoke
      Posted on April 28, 2012 at 3:04am

      Somehow, I don’t think Raid could do the job.

      I think I would have to walk around that country with a shotgun loaded with birdshot.

      Report this comment

      Gravejoke  
  • merik59
    Posted on March 28, 2012 at 5:06pm

    One vicious looking wasp. Hey, maybe the females get tired of being dominated by the males & they quit coming back to the nests & that’s the real reason they’re on the decline. I’d like to meet the scientist that verified the decline of these things is due to humans growing crops, what did they do-talk to the damn things? Just what exactly did they say, Dr. Doolittle? There are too many other possibilities here & most are probably man-made, but I choose us over them in this case. I would hate to get bit or stung by one of these things. I would like to see a contest between one of these wasps & a praying mantis. Now that would be a match to witness.

    Report this comment

    merik59  
  • PaxInVeritate
    Posted on March 28, 2012 at 3:40pm

    Bad Humans! Baaaaad Baaaad Humans!!! You don’t belong in nature. All you humans do is destroy nature!!! *end of sarcasm* What proof dose she have to assert human involvement? How does she know that it’s not all the matting the poor guys do and dies just like the Mayfly and Salmon?

    Report this comment

    PaxInVeritate  
  • rafa2design
    Posted on March 28, 2012 at 12:27pm

    Can’t wait to watch nature videos on this. When Wasps Attack

    Report this comment

    rafa2design  
  • TEIN
    Posted on March 28, 2012 at 10:42am

    “Kimsey said it makes her “sick to my stomach” to think of this newly discovered species’ population declining due to human activity.”…If it wasn’t for “human activity” you would not have found it in the first place!!!! And since you know nothing about the specie, how can you make such an ill conceived, blanketed comment such as that??

    Report this comment

    TEIN  
    • Welcome Black Carter
      Posted on March 28, 2012 at 10:28pm

      Any guesses where she stands on abortion…

      Report this comment

      Welcome Black Carter  
    • friendfor truth
      Posted on March 29, 2012 at 10:30am

      I’m sure I know where she stands on abortion. Sick and twisted.

      Report this comment

      friendfor truth  
    • Netsurfer2
      Posted on April 22, 2012 at 8:59pm

      Ahhh… yes! Another U.N. fan who thinks man is the problem or is it that they want to charge us carbon credits for nothing? Bugs and plants seem to have more human rights than humans!

      Report this comment

      Netsurfer2  
  • SCARY313568
    Posted on March 28, 2012 at 10:30am

    Another liberal elitist dolt living in the fantasyland of applied theory.

    Report this comment

    SCARY313568  
  • YourVoiceMatters
    Posted on March 28, 2012 at 9:48am

    ya just find the thing!
    How did you become so all knowing about a species ya just found?
    Wow! Should we be impressed?
    Or can we say perhaps your mindset is causing you to JUMP to conclusions!
    After-all you found the thing dead already!
    Kimsey~up against the machine~So go ahead:
    “Jump”84 (Van Halen) MightAsWell

    Report this comment

    YourVoiceMatters  
  • piper60
    Posted on March 28, 2012 at 9:10am

    This is one species we can do without. Of course, if we were to release a small number into the chamber of our congress, It MIGHT speed up legislature for a day or two.

    Report this comment

    piper60  
    • huey6367
      Posted on March 29, 2012 at 7:04am

      Nah, they would just adjorn until a “date yet to be determined”.

      See how that works.

      Report this comment

      huey6367  
  • ChildofJesus
    Posted on March 28, 2012 at 9:09am

    *shudders* I hate bees and wasps and yellow jackets they freak me out because ive been stung more then once when i was little. brr

    Report this comment

    ChildofJesus  
  • Nemo13
    Posted on March 28, 2012 at 9:05am

    Here is the deal, you ‘sick to your stomach’ scientists: Humans are a part of the planet too. If species die because we are doing well, that is NATURE AT WORK. It is not for you to say we should do anything other than how nature has made us.

    Report this comment

    Nemo13  
    • RaptorEP
      Posted on May 11, 2012 at 3:14pm

      We are suppose to be good stewarts of the planet, but assuming a decline, and assuming we are at fault is childish and not scientific. Like the Man-of-war jellyfish they thought extinct and turns out there are millions of them. Get your facts straight lady before you make a public statement, that way you don’t look like a @ss.

      Report this comment

      RaptorEP  
  • BehindBlueEyes
    Posted on March 28, 2012 at 9:02am

    America also has something horrifying from Indonesia.

    Report this comment

    BehindBlueEyes  
  • SpankDaMonkey
    Posted on March 28, 2012 at 8:58am

    .
    “sick to my stomach” to think of this newly discovered species’ population declining due to human activity.

    Show me a wad of them, and I’ll squirt them with a dose of Wasp & Hornet Killer…….

    Report this comment

    SpankDaMonkey  
  • THXll38
    Posted on March 28, 2012 at 8:56am

    The video of the old lady running into the glass was pretty damn funny.

    Report this comment

    THXll38  
    • hauschild
      Posted on March 28, 2012 at 11:05am

      How in the world does one literally “walk into” a wall – regardless of what it’s made from??? My goodness!

      Report this comment

      hauschild  
  • cranberry
    Posted on March 28, 2012 at 8:53am

    Pretty cool, hope Indonesia is able or cares to, protect all of these new species they discovered. I doubt it, but I am hoping so.

    Report this comment

    cranberry  
    • TomFerrari
      Posted on March 28, 2012 at 9:05am

      Survival of the fittest, baby!
      Man is fittest.
      She is ashamed of men FARMING!!
      We have to clear land to farm it. Otherwise, WE perish.
      Funny how it’s the same people who worship evolution (survival of the fittest) are the same people who preach that man is somehow evil for trying to SURVIVE!

      Report this comment

      TomFerrari  
  • Gonzo
    Posted on March 28, 2012 at 8:45am

    I am a bigger WASP than that little thing.

    Report this comment

    Gonzo  
  • Dolfenn24
    Posted on March 28, 2012 at 8:41am

    This really bugs me….

    Report this comment

    Dolfenn24  
  • searching for the Truth
    Posted on March 28, 2012 at 8:28am

    Brought to you by the same intellect that brought us fire ants.

    Report this comment

    searching for the Truth  
  • RepubliCorp
    Posted on March 28, 2012 at 8:28am

    Can send Obama there on vacation, with any luck the thing will lay an egg on him

    Report this comment

    RepubliCorp  
  • Minonkman
    Posted on March 28, 2012 at 8:21am

    I can not think of a better place for it.

    Report this comment

    Minonkman  
  • Psychosis
    Posted on March 28, 2012 at 8:19am

    Kimsey said it makes her “sick to my stomach” to think of this newly discovered species’ population declining due to human activity.

    another ” scientist ” who places more importance on critters than humans

    bet she is a supporter of agenda 21, where nuts like this want to rack and stack humans in tiny little areas and give the land back to nature

    not to mention eliminate millions of humans from the population numbers

    Report this comment

    Psychosis  
    • LouC57
      Posted on March 28, 2012 at 8:26am

      Yeah, you’re probably right. This reminds me of the Saber Tooth Tiger. It wasn’t a successful species and died out on it’s own. Sometimes bigger teeth or jaws aren’t going to help your species one bit. And it could be this one insect is a mutant.

      Report this comment

      LouC57  
  • SamIamTwo
    Posted on March 28, 2012 at 8:16am

    LouC57
    Posted on March 28, 2012 at 8:02am

    Killer bees flying up his rear end don’t seem enough justice….
    ==============================================================

    Hows about some WASPs…LOL

    Report this comment

    SamIamTwo  
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