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WTB Down Under?

hey what is this bug??
i found it in my back yard in brier Washington. im going to collage to become an entomologist!!!!! thank you so much, i hope you can tell me what i found!!!!!!!
blake oswold

Hi Blake,
This is an Ichneumon. We are inclined to guess that it is a Megarhyssa species, but it does not match any specimens on BugGuide. In 2004, we received a nearly identical specimen that Eric Eaton identified as Megarhyssa nortoni. The specimens pictured on BugGuide are brown and yellow, not black and white, which has us puzzled. There is also a photo posted on an Australian website where Megarhyssa nortoni has been introduced as a biological control agent for the European Wood Wasp, Sirex noctilio. Eric Eaton quickly wrote back with this comment: “Hi, Daniel: Well, I’m wondering now if the ichneumons are even in the GENUS Megarhyssa! I can’t be absolutely positive. I know there are sizable ichneumons in other genera that closely resemble Megarhyssa, especially in the western U.S. Eric”

Related Posts

1. Ichneumon (July 31, 2009)
2. Giant Ichneumon Ovipositing (May 13, 2007)
3. Megarhyssa nortoni (July 7, 2004)
4. Giant Ichneumon (July 20, 2009)
5. Ichneumon Wasp (August 20, 2009)