Ensign Wasp perhaps

bugman

February 9th, 2010 at 9:55 am

Categories

Small, wasplike black fly
February 8, 2010
I cannot get a good picture of it, as my camera is not of good quality. But upon studying this strange little insect, I noticed physical characteristics of both a wasp and a fly. This small, black insect flies around our kitchen on occasion, it is about 3/4 of an inch in length, with a black wasp shaped head. It has six legs, the joints on all are an off white color, as well as a few tiny stripes on the sides of the thorax. The back set of legs are thick, almost cricketlike, but are about the same length as the rest of the legs. It has a single set of flylike wings, and the abdomen is elliptical, coming to a small point at the tip. I did a rough digital sketch of the insect, but I do not think I did it justice. I simply wish to know what it is, if it is dangerous, how to be rid of it, ect. Your help would be appreciated.
Thank you, Felicia Wise
Rhode Island, Wintertime

Ensign Wasp Drawing

Hi Felicia,
Though your drawing is perfectly charming, there is a bit too much creative license for us to use it for any identification purposes, however your letter contains one important clue that has led us to believe you have Ensign Wasps. The hind legs of an Ensign Wasp are cricket-like. Ensign Wasps parasitize the oothica or egg cases of cockroaches, and the presence of Ensign Wasps might indicate that you have roaches, but the wasps will help to control future generations as the Ensign Wasp larvae feed on the eggs. We have numerous images of Ensign Wasps in our archive, and you may use our search engine to find additional ones.