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Please tell me what these are and if I should be concerned about small children in the area. They have been hanging out on a wood pile of recently cut trees. As you can see they have a long spikey tail, some have purple wings and some don’t. They sometimes swarm if you get too close. We call them freaky bugs cause they are freaking us out! Please help.
NC
Southeastern Pennsylvania
Hi NC,
This is a Giant Ichneumon in the genus Megarhyssa and it is a beneficial insect, not at all dangerous to you or your children. They are parasitic wasps that do not sting. Eggs are laid deep in the wood where the larval food source, wood boring insects live. Your wood pile must be infested with wood boring insects to attract such a hoard of Ichneumons.
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