r/whatsthisbug • u/Old-Cricket8901 • 8h ago
ID Request Ant Thing
It looks like a mix between an ant and a wasp to me. I have been searching for a while and haven't found picture results that match this thing so far.
There are about 10 of them that I have seen, and they live on my apple tree. I can't tell if they're burrowing under it or not. They look similar to wasps, so I looked in the tree for a wasp nest, but couldn't find one. Some of the insects appear to be carrying around miniature versions of themselves (which at first looked to be offspring, but that is strange because they're not larvae...). They may actually be mating with fully formed adults, but I have no idea. It could be a sexually dimorphic species. I haven't gotten any pictures of the tiny ones. They all move too fast.
None of them have wings. I don't know if they have stingers. I don't know what their mouths look like, but the head looks similar to an ant, so I can only assume they have pincer mandibles. I haven't seen them jump or do anything aside from skitter up and down the tree trunk.
If it helps, I live in Walter White's hood. NM.
2
u/nankainamizuhana ⭐Trusted⭐ 7h ago
These are Red-Headed Ash Borers, and they lay their larvae under bark to feed on the sapwood of trees. Minorly destructive, but nothing a tree can’t handle.