Reader Teresa Mar photographed an insect on August 28th in Monte Gordo, in the Sotavento region of the Algarve, and sent the image to the Wilder website asking what species it belonged to. The reader described the insect as a flyer that jumps a lot when they try to capture it, with enormous legs and a large "stinger."
The identification was made by Rui Andrade, administrator of the Diptera group in Portugal on Facebook, who classified the insect as a wasp from the Evaniidae family.
Evaniidae are parasitic wasps specialized in cockroach oothecae (egg sacs). The female introduces an egg into the ootheca, where the larva develops feeding on the cockroach eggs. The adults of this family have a short and robust body, with a small and narrow abdomen, and when active they oscillate their abdomen up and down.
They are sometimes found in human dwellings, but are not known to sting or bite people, nor do they display aggressive behavior.
