How to Write 蠃 (luǒ) — Meaning “solitary wasp”

Imagine a "lonely" wasp sitting on a "twisted branch" — the top part 𣎆 looks like a twisted shape, and 虫 is the bug. So 蠃 = twisted branch + bug = the solitary wasp that builds its nest alone.

The top part 𣎆 has 10 strokes and must be written with balanced horizontal lines; do not make it too wide. The bottom 虫 (6 strokes) should be centered under the top. A common mistake is to misplace the dot inside 虫 — remember it goes inside the mouth-like enclosure.

蠃 (solitary wasp) has the top component 𣎆, while 螫 (sting) has 赦 on top meaning "to pardon" but used phonetically, and 螬 (grub) has 曹 on top meaning "group". Visually, 蠃's top is like a twisted branch, whereas 螫 has a more complex top with 攵 (whip) and 赤 (red).

蠃 is rare in daily use, mostly appearing in the term 螟蠃 (míng luǒ) which refers to a kind of wasp that catches caterpillars to feed its larvae. In classical Chinese literature, 螟蠃 sometimes symbolizes adopted children because people once thought the wasp raised caterpillars as its own offspring.

Common words containing 蠃 include: 螟蠃 (míng luǒ) — Mason wasp; 蠃子 (luǒ zi) — solitary wasp; 蠃虫 (luǒ chóng) — solitary wasp.