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Very long, 1" body and 3" "butt antennae". Sort of reddish brown with green stripes and orange legs. Creepy!
On the side of a tree in my backyard.
It struck me as odd that I found one of its long "butt antennae" (I have no idea what to call those things) stuck in a small circular hole in a tree. Laying eggs maybe?
Spotted on Jul 15, 2016
Submitted on Jul 15, 2016
1 Comment
This looks like an Ichneumon Wasp, family Ichneumonidae. There are more than 5000 species in North America and I can't help you get any more specific than this.
See:
http://bugguide.net/node/view/150
The "butt antennae" you describe is actually its egg-laying organ, called an ovipositor. It has a sheath that covers the actual egg insertion projection and this sheath splits into two or three prongs when it lays its eggs. This is why it appears to be three antennae. They use this organ to drill into trees and logs to lay their eggs in the larvae of other insects that live in the wood.