Malta’s Modern Mammoths: One Of Europe’s Largest Wasp Species Keeps Being Spotted… But That’s Not A Bad Thing
A massive wasp, one of the largest in Europe, is seemingly getting more common in Malta… but while it might look quite scary, its presence is actually a good thing.
Ominously known as the Mammoth Wasp, or Qerd iż-Żaqżuq in Maltese, the large species sees females reaching up to five centimetres in length, with its striking black and yellow colours making it look like quite intimidating. Thankfully, though, not everything is what it seems with this metal AF wasp.
As prominent naturalist and exterminator Arnold Sciberras explains, Mammoth Wasps are solitary and are actually not aggressive, stinging only when provoked. This, of course, stands as a very sharp contrast to their nasty alien pest cousins, the Oriental Hornet, which Malta has had to deal with for the last years. In fact, the Mammoth Wasp is actually a beneficial species.
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“They parasitize the larvae of scarab beetles, particularly the European rhinoceros beetle,” Sciberras said. “By targeting these beetles, they help regulate populations that could otherwise damage trees and decomposing wood structures.”
Typically found in warm, open areas such as woodlands, gardens and rural environments (of course, in direct relation to where suitable host beetle larvae occur), the large wasps are not super common locally, but are starting to be. “Sightings have increased in recent years,” likely due to changes in climate and increased availability of host species,” Sciberras detailed. “This year has been quite a year for it in the Maltese Islands, as many clients of ours reported to us and on social media.”
Have you ever seen a Mammoth Wasp? Send this to someone who needs to know about this generally gentle giant.
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