Is this a Giant Ichneumon?
Hello there.
Great site. I had this bug on my windscreen for two hundred miles un a journy between my house and my parents. Have asked friends but none of them has ever seen one before. looking at your site I presume it is a Giant Ichneumon? Do you know if they are very common in England?
Thanks
Rob Powley
Hi Rob,
We spent some time searching for information and cannot determine if Giant Ichneumons in the genus Megarhyssa are native to England, but we did find some information about them being imported to use as biological controls for wood boring larvae. This is a Megarhyssa, but we are not sure of the species.
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Posted 17 September 2005
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What is this bug?
My neighbor showed these to me and wanted to know what they are. He showed me a tree in his yard that has small round holes in it. The bark is falling off where the holes are and the tree is dying. Are the holes being made from these insects or another? Could it be that these insects are feeding off of another bug that is destroying his trees?
Awesome site,
Dan Shope
Hi Dan,
These insects are Giant Ichneumons in the genus Megarhyssa. They feed on the larvae of wood boring insects. The tree could have been dying on its own which attracted the boring insects, or it could have had an infestation of wood boring beetles or other insects that contributed to its demise. At any rate, once the wood borers were present, the Giant Ichneumons were attracted. These beneficial insects help to control the populations of more destructive insects, kepping the delicate balance of nature.
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Posted 09 September 2005
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Giant Ichneumon
I figured out what this was by checking your website. I thought you might enjoy these photos from my back yard in a northwestern suburb of Chicago. I have never seen anything like this species before and almost crawled out of my skin when I saw them crawling all over a dead elm in my yard. The tree died after being infested with wood boring bees a couple of years ago.
Thanks for the info!
There are probably still wood boring grubs in your tree which is why the Ichneumons are laying eggs.
Ed. Note: (09/17/2005) We now believe this to be Megarhyssa macrurus which can be located on this site.
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Posted 29 August 2005
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Flying Insect
Dear Bugman,
I found this insect on a dead tree stump. It is quite large with the dual black tail at least 3" long. The bug itself flies, somewhat laboriously, and its body is about 2" long. I found more than one and they seem to be trying to attract a mate. They are sticking their tail into a 1/8" hole while puffing out some device on the end of their tails. The head sure looks like some kind of wasp but I see no stingers. Any ideas?
GF
Hi GF,
Awesome photo of a female Megarhyssa atrata, the Giant Ichneumon, laying her eggs. She uses that long ovipositor to deposit eggs deep inside trees that are infested with wood boring insects. The eggs hatch and the larvae eat the grubs that are eating the wood.
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Posted 23 August 2005
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is this a Pigeon Horntails, Tremex columba???
This thing came flying in my house this morning and scared me and my dog! i grabbed the broom and killed it! then brought it to work to see if anyone had see anything like it before. no one had a clue. so i googled and found your website and after looking around the site, i’m guessing it’s a Pigeon Horntails, Tremex columba? can you confirm that? I live about 30 miles north of Houston in The Woodlands, Texas and I have never seen anything like it. Please let me know your thoughts.
Thanks, Jeanie
Hi Jeanie,
While we understand how that long ovipositor can be off-putting, the Giant Ichneumon, Megarhyssa atrata, is harmless to humans. She uses the ovipositor to deposit her eggs in the burrows of wood boring insects, the larval food source. With all the recent publicity about Asian Longhorn Beetles possibly decimating our forests after arriving in this country in wood palettes, the Giant Ichneumons might be our only salvation. I guess your specimen will not be providing any future generations of pest control.
A huge gorgeous bug
Here is a picture of a two-inch wingspan bug I ushered out of my house
in Mid-Maryland last night. Any clues?
This is a female Ichneumon. We are not sure of the species.
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Posted 06 August 2005
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Giant Ichneumon
Dear Bugman:
A friend pointed me to your website, WOW, really great site to visit, I have been trying to find someone who could identify this Insect, behold I think I found it on your website. It is a Female Giant Ichneumon, Right! Here is a couple of Pictures, this was on a Maple tree at my weekend place in northcentral Pa. Let me know if I am correct, Please.
Thank you so much
Tom B
Allentown, Pa
Hi Tom,
Yes, you have a Giant Ichneumon female, Megarhyssa species. Thanks for the image.
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Posted 03 August 2005
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bright red legs, bright blue body….what is it?
Hello Mr Bugman Sir,
I know you are busy what with this being summer but curiousity about this guy (girl?) is just too much to take!!! Seriously I am attempting to ID it myself and instead have made myself aware of way too many spooky creatures out there! Please pretty please look at my picture! Ok enough begging. Although his coloring is a bit drab now, when alive his legs were bright crimson and the body parts were a shimmery bright blue. He has two long curling (Suess-like) antennae and two stingers? trailing from the back end. These started flying during May sometime into our house in Victoria, B.C. ‘Course I am hoping that they are termites or carpenter ants – they don’t fit the description from what I can determine. Please tell me they are something innocuous and just plain pretty, made by Mother Nature.
Thanks, in advance, for your consideration.
Ann-Marie
Hi Ann-Marie,
We turned to Eric Eaton for more information on your species of Ichneumon. He wrote back telling us that except for Meharhyssa and Arotes it is nearly impossible to identify the genus and species of Ichneumons from photos. These are beneficial relatives of wasps that lay eggs and parasitize many types of destructive insects including caterpillars and borers.
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Posted 16 July 2005
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Hi,
I found this bug on my kitchen window, had to take a photo as i have never seen one like it before. I live in Belfast N.Ireland and curious to know if this is a local insect or unknown to Ireland.
Many thanks
Una.
Hi Una,
This is some species of Ichneumon. If it was from the U.S. I would say it was the genus Megarhyssa. It might be. At any rate, it is one of the Ichneumons.
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Posted 08 July 2005
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Giant Ichneumon?
After reviewing your site (having had searched through many bug books!), I think this is a Giant Ichneumon. Thought you’d like this picture for your website.
Patricia St.Marie
Massachusetts
Hi Patricia,
Thank you for sending in a textbook quality image of a female Megarhyssa atrata depositing an egg. This is the most commonly pictured of the Giant Ichneumon species. Your photo is glorious. We are thinking of redesigning our archive pages so that a classic image of the insect is prominently featured at the top of the page, and I think your image and letter will be at the top of the Ichneumon page for years to come. thank you so much.
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Posted 04 July 2005
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what is this?
What the heck is this wasp-like creature? and will he bite/sting? He was hanging out on our house in southern Colorado. He is about 3 in. long, not including the (tail?).
This is one of the Giant Ichneumon species from the genus Megarhyssa. It is harmless despite the formidable looking ovipositor.
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Posted 22 June 2005
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Bug in my garden
Hi there Bugman!
Thank you for providing everyone with such a wonderful website. Please could you tell me what this insect is? It looks similar to "Giant Ichneumon – Megarhyssa atrata" on your website. Thank you for your help.
Andrew – MA
Hi Andrew,
Your Giant Ichneumon is indeed Megarhyssa atrata. We have gotten several other photos of Megarhyssa species recently, but M. atrata is distinctly black with a yellow head and legs. Thank you for adding to our site and also thank you for your kind words.
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Posted 12 June 2005
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