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Project Noah Nature School
Lissopimpla excelsa
This elegant ichneumon wasp had orange head, thorax, antennae, legs and last abdominal segment. The other abdominal segments were black with a single white dot on either side of mid line of 4 segments. Wings appeared black as was the medium-sized ovipositor. Antennae were extremely long and slender, curling at the ends.
Flew onto a tea-tree and actively searched for something before it too-off again. Spotted in a national park amongst tea-trees.
These wasps are called "orchid dupes" because some orchids (like the tongue-orchid in the spotting below) mimic the smell of female wasps of this genus thus attracting males of the wasp species and ensuring that pollination occurs.
The females lay their eggs into caterpillars on which the wasp larvae feed on hatching.
Family: Ichneumonidae
http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/115...
Spotted on Oct 11, 2014
Submitted on Oct 12, 2014
6 Comments
Thank you. Will be on the look-out for it.
Not sure about other orchids but I've seen Cryptostylis leaves around Belgrave at Ballak Willam reserve, so the genus may occur away from the coast.
Thanks Luis.
That's great to know Vinny. Thanks . Your photos of the orchids seem to locate them near the coast - I wonder what they are doing here.Do they pollinate other orchids as well ?
This wasp is the pollinator of Cryptostylis orchids, the orchid mimics the pheromone of the wasp (http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/300..., http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/302...). Means the Cryptostylis might be out!
Beautiful spotting!