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Giant Ichneumon

Megarhyssa macrurus

Description:

There are several different species of Ichneumon Wasp, each with its own color variations. Some are black and yellow, others reddish and striped. All have the Ichneumon Wasp body shape: a thin waist and an abdomen longer than the rest of the body. Members of the family Ophion have abdomens that are shorter than Megarhyssa, but they are still long in comparison to more familiar wasps. Females may have a long, needle-like ovipositor which is often mistaken as a stinger. The sturdy ovipositor acts like a syringe, injecting eggs deep into wood (live trees, or logs) where the larvae will feed on any other insect larvae already deposited there. It is not uncommon to see females poking around wood in an attempt to find a good place to deposit her eggs. Males do not have the ovipositor so their abdomen ('tails') are shorter. Both genders are still wasps, however, and capable of stinging if threatened.

Habitat:

tend to live in wooded areas and throughout all of North America, though they do stay away from the arid and hot desert regions and scarcely treed central plains.

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daniel.dparsons
Spotted by
daniel.dparsons

Spotted on Jun 30, 2020
Submitted on Jul 1, 2020

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