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Whats this bug?
I have been cutting wood at my home in Northern Michigan, about 40 miles South East of Traverse City. I have been noticing these strange wasp like insects boring holes in dead trees. Today we were building a new wood shed and I snapped the second picture of one of these insects on a tree. Can you please tell me what this is? You are more than welcome to post my question and your answer along with these pictures on your web site for others to see. Thanking you in Advance,
Ron & Diane Loveland
First time we saw one of these creatures.Second picture. Notice the strange thing hanging off its tail…. What is it?

Hi Ron and Diane,
Sorry for the delay. We had technical problems and are trying to answer a few backlogged letters. This is a Giant Ichneumon, Megarhyssa atrata, a female. She is laying eggs in wood that is infested with boring insects, like the Pigeon Horntail. The young Ichneumon parasitized the boring insects. The membrane visible in one photo is part of the egg laying process.

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