They are also either social or solitary species. Social wasps live in groups, and build their nests from chewed up plant fibre. Females and workers can give a painful sting - several times if need be. Solitary wasps, like solitary bees, live on their own. They include the native Golden Hunting Wasp and the native Large Black Hunting Wasp.
Dragonflies There are seven species of dragonflies in New Zealand.
One species is the endemic Crepuscular Dragonfly, which lives only on the North Island. They can be found in slow moving streams running through indigenous forests. Most are found only in native forest. The front wings of beetles have become hard, movable covers which protect the larger, back wings used for flying. Beetles can range in size from as small as a full-stop to longer than 20cm.