two sp. of ichneumon ovipositing together
Hi Bugman,
Thanks for your helpful comments and photos of ichneumons. My brother took this picture next to his house in Bloomington MN that might be nice for your collection. We identified the two ichneumons using your page; if I read correctly, it’s a Megarhyssa macrurus and a Megarhyssa atrata laying eggs side by side.
Allan

Hi Allen,
Thank you for sending us your brother’s fabulous photograph. It is one of the best images we have received in a long time. Your identification is correct, with Megarhyssa atrata on the right. Out of curiosity: Does your brother have a name? or, Is he just your brother?

Hi Daniel,
My brother’s name is Jon, and he deserves all the credit! All the best,
Allan

weird flying orange antennae big bug in Canada
Hi. Awesome website!
I checked through and can’t find this weird flying bug with a black body (that it holds flipped up, over its head – although the 2nd pic I did get in normal position), and orange antennae. I’m always photographing butterflies and bugs and love their beauty, however I have to admit this ‘thing’ scared me! It’s about 2-3 inches long, and I had never before seen it in southern Saskatchewan, Canada. Many thanks
Fran

Hi Fran,
We thought this was a male Ichneumon in the genus Megarhyssa, but we were wrong. See Below.

Many thanks. If it’s any help: when my sister and I first spotted it: it looked like it had just wings and antennae, like it was trying to stuff its body into the crack in the tree. (weird). Then it had it flipped over its back most of the time, and only for one ‘wiggle’ did it appear normal, then back to this position. Looking forward to your reply. Best regards,
Fran.

Correction: (07/31/2007)
Eric Eaton set us straight. Here is what he wrote: “Hi, Daniel: That is an ichneumon wasp, but NOT a Megarhyssa. We have images over at Bugguide identified as Gnamptopelta obsidianator, but I don’t know any more than that. Females of that species lack the long ovipositors.
Eric”

What’s THIS bug?
Hi there,
This bug appeared on my desk tonight and we’ve never seen one like this before. What made me take notice of it most was the white midsection on the dark coloured antennae. I apologize for the quality of the photos but our digital camera won’t take good closeups. This is the best I could do. One photo was taken while the bug was sitting on a white envelope and the other two were taken with it sitting on the beige wallpaper. The bug is about an inch long if you count in the antennae. He flies from one light to another or sits on the wall next to the light. I’d appreciate knowing what it is. I looked on your website but, not knowing what type of bug to look up, I’d have to look at every listing there. Since I have dialup and not high speed, that would take forever. Thanks in advance for any help you can give me. I hope this thing doesn’t bite because we’ve chosen to let him fly free. If he lands on me, I may change my mind on that though!
Cheryl Jones
Fredericton, New Brunswick
Canada

Hi Cheryl,
This is an Ichneumon. Ichneumons are an important group of insects that parasitize caterpillars, wood boring insects, aphids and others. Ichneumons are related to wasps, but they do not sting. BugGuide has identified your group of Ichneumons in a very general sense according to color: Black/White w Orange legs, Dot on Back, White on Antennae. BugGuide also indicates that Ichneumonidae is: “One of the largest families of insects with over 3100 species in North America (60,000 worldwide). The majority resemble slender wasps. They differ from the wasps that sting (Scolioidea, Vespoidea and Sphecoidea) in that they have the antennae longer and with more segments usually 16 or more). In many ichneumons the ovipositor is quite long, often longer than the body. It is divided into 24 or 35 subfamilies depending on different authors.. Many Ichneumons are of value in the control of noxious insects. “

Male and Female Megarhyssa macrurus
Hi!
We were at our cottage in Holland, MI and were lucky enough to witness 2 female Ichneumon Megarhyssa macrurus depositing their eggs, while a couple of males observed. I noticed that have quite a few pictures of the females on your site – and thought you might like a couple photos of the males! Thanks for your amazing site that helped me to identify this fascinating creature We had a great science lesson for all the kids (and adults too) to learn as much as we could after we figured out what we saw! Everyone was relieved to find out they are not stinging insects and were safe to be around Sincerely,
Kristen Miles
Grand Rapids, MI

Hi Kristen,
Your amazing photos are a wonderful addition to our site. Now our readers will know what the male Megarhyssa macrurus looks like.

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”

Ichneumon
Hi,
Last weekend I was lucky enough to observe a large meeting of Ichneumons (dozens at times), males and females, on a bug stressed elm tree in Prescott, AZ. Our local ‘bugman’ Carl Olson, associate Curator of the Dept. of entomology of the U of AZ, was so kind to identify them for me: Megarhyssa (I got that far with my German Insect book and your site) macrurus icerosticta (Michener). The males in the first pic are around 1", the females including the ovipositor up to 5". This all happened during an outdoor art show, so instead of selling my paintings, I found myself explaining over and over again the complex procreation of Ichneumon to lots of curious and fascinated folks.
Margarethe

Hi again Margarethe,
We are especially interested in the photo of the male Ichneumons since we almost always get requests to identify females.