המועדפים של headsoup

For a week or more, these colourful wasps have been gathering over a sandy patch of the forest floor, circling, landing, and regularly ovipositing into the soil. This is one of the two that I collected for identification.

See also this field sighting:
https://inaturalist.ala.org.au/observations/185209940

This species is quite unlike the braconids we commonly see here.
[collection ref: 2309L]

For full details see my workbook page:
https://southernforestlife.net/notes/2023/9/24/braconidae-braconinae

Two wasps ovipositing into a bundle of stuck together leaves
presumably containing a lepidopteran pupa or pupae. This is on an Acacia Implexa.

The following times refer to wasp 1, on the left, based on a series of photos. Wasp 2, on the right, landed at about
the same time or earlier but left briefly a couple of times. Wasp 1 was in the same position whenever I looked.

11:13:25 wasp 1 lands
11:14:16 wasp 1 ovipositor in position
11:16:37 wasp 1 ovipositor unsheathed
11:25:09 (photo 1 - chosen as it is the best photo showing both wasps)
11:57:39 wasp 1 ovipositor fully inserted for the first time in my photos - wasp 2 not present (photo 2)
12:04:30 wasp 1 still in position
was not watching in this interval during which wasp 1 departed
12 21 59 wasp 2 still ovipositing. I left at this point

So in summary it took wasp 1 somewhere between 51 and 68 minutes to complete oviposition.

Male hanging around after attempting to mate with female (competing with multiple other males). Here's video of the attempted mating by the males:
https://1drv.ms/v/s!AsPrU9Lf-j3ehKBC_OcILye1hoPc_Q?e=zJqtqs

@reiner do you know any inat wasp specialists that might find the video useful? It's unfortunately got horrible background noise from a neighbour's machinery, but shows the mating frenzy going on.