Striped antenna scavenger
Sun, May 3, 2009 at 8:09 PM
Hi Bugman,
I was in local park and saw this bug running around over leaves. It was moving its antennas over everything it ran over like it was trying to feel and detect food. I had never seen a bug quite like this and was wondering what it was. I scared it at one point and it flew away. Thanks and keep up the good work.
Inquiring Mind
Cary, NC
Ichneumon Wasp
Dear Inquiring Mind,
WE are relatively certain that this is a Spider Wasp in the family Pompilidae. According to BugGuide: “Adults are usually found on flowers or on the ground searching for prey.” This seems to accurately describe the behavior you witnessed. The doubt we are having has to do with the wings. BugGuide indicates: “Wings not folded flat on top of abdomen” and your specimen appears to have flat folded wings. There are 8 pages of genera listed on BugGuide, and our quick search did not provide any matches with striped antennae. We hope to get some input from Eric Eaton on this ID, and perhaps some reader can also provide a species or genus name for us.
Ichneumon Wasp
Correction: Wed, 6 May 2009 17:36:40 -0700 (PDT)
Daniel:
The “spider wasp” is actually an ichneumon wasp:-) Fooled ya! Hey, everybody has been fooled by mimicry like this at one time or another. Spider wasps very rarely have banded antennae, but the tips of the antennae are sometimes a different color. Many ichneumons and sawflies do have banded antennae, however.
Eric
Unknown bug pictures included
Sat, Mar 28, 2009 at 6:26 AM
We are finding these bugs at our house. A few weeks ago we found 2 very small bugs (babies) that flew into the house. They appeared to be attreacted to lampshades or light fixtures. We are now seeing larger ones outside hanging out on the outside of our sliding glass door and windows. This particular bug is 3/4 of an inch from tip of ‘tail’ to tip of anntenae. They look like ants with wings, but with long anttenae and a possible stinger from the back portion. It is straight and does not ever appear curved or fluid in movement. We are not seeing a tremendous amount, and only one at a time seems to be around.
Vickie
Maryland
Ichneumon: genus Pimpla???
Hi Vickie,
This is an Ichneumon, a family of parasitic wasps that prey on a variety of host insects and arthropods. Ichneumons will not harm you nor your home, and they are important biological controls for keeping insect populations in check. We believe your example may be in the genus Pimpla as evidenced by images posted to BugGuide.
Redish-brown flying insect, looks somewhat like a wasp, but with no stiner or visible mandibles
Thu, Mar 26, 2009 at 4:43 AM
We live in the Puget Sound area in Washington state on Whidbey Island. It rains often, is overcast when it isn’t raining, and it is to be expected that there’ll be bugs trying to enter the home to escape the water.
We found this bug in our hallway after walking the dog around 4 in the morning. It’s been unusually cold for this time of year, and has been raining for the past 3 days.
We captured the bug between a cup and saucer and took this photo, afterwards we released it into the bushes outside the apartment.
Apartment Dweller
Whidbey Island, Puget Sound Area of Washington State
Ichneumon
Dear Apartment Dweller,
This is an Ichneumon. Ichneumons are a group of parasitic wasps that prey upon different insects. This may be a male Ichneumon which would explain the lack of a stinger. Many female Ichneumons, especially in the genus Megarhyssa, have highly developed ovipositors, some up to five inches long. These organs are needed to locate wood burrowing larvae that serve as food for the young. Other Ichneumons have much smaller ovipositors. This is a large confusing group of insects, and we rarely attempt to make specific species or genus identification attempts.
Wasp?
Sat, Dec 20, 2008 at 9:11 AM
This was taken at night in Ontario Canada while camping at a provincial park.
Brett
Ontario Canada
Giant Ichneumons
Hi Brett,
We have a sneaking suspicion that this observation did not happen while camping this week. These are Giant Ichneumons in the genus Megarhyssa, most likely Megarhyssa macrurus. Giant Ichneumons are related to Wasps since they are in the same insect order, but they are in a different family. These are females and they are ovipositing. Giant Ichneumons are parasitic on the larva of wood boring insects, especially the Pigeon Horntail. The female Giant Ichneumon locates the tunnel of one of the wood boring larvae and uses her nearly five inch long ovipositor to deposit an egg deep inside the infested tree.
Pimpla Instigator?
Sun, Dec 7, 2008 at 4:03 PM
We found 5 or 6 of these guys in our house over the past 24 hours. It’s a 6 legged insect with wings and a longish ’stinger’ tail. I took a picture and found it to have very large ‘eyes’ and long antennae. We’re wondering if this bug is common (we’ve never seen it before) and if we should be worried about it with our pets? Any help would be appreciated!
Jason
Northern Ontario, Canada
Ichneumon, probably subfamily Pimplinae
Hi Jason,
While we cannot say for sure that this is Pimpla instigator, we are fairly confident that it is an Ichneumon in the Subfamily Pimplinae. BugGuide does not provide much information on this subfamily, but Ichneumons are parasitic on insects and other arthropods, and will not harm humans or their pets.
Is this rare to Minnesota?
Wed, Nov 19, 2008 at 7:35 AM
I photographed these in August in my backyard, I had never seen them before. I have learned, from the University of Minnesota and your website that they are megarhyssa atrata. They are beautiful. Can you tell me if these are rare to my area, or can I expect more of them in the future? Thank you so much for your help.
Anita, Plymouth MN
Plymouth, Minnesota
Giant Ichneumons laying eggs
Hi Anita,
Your Giant Ichneumons, Megarhyssa atrata, do range in Minnesota and they are not uncommon. the likelihood of seeing them in the future probably depends upon a food source. The adult females in your photo are laying eggs in the wood of a tree that is infested with wood boring larvae, most likely those of the Pigeon Horntail. As long as dead and dying wood is present and that wood is infested with the host insect, there will be a ready food supply for the Megarhyssa atrata and you will probably see the adults.
Unknown Bug, Sorry
Hi WTB,
you hear it all the time, however, I’d just like to say what a fantastic library of data you have, really outstanding. I have searched the majority of your database, various other websites, and a book that I have, however, I cannot for the life of me find this creature. It looks like several things, but I’m not going to say what to make a fool of myself if they are way off the mark haha. Could you please help? This photo was taken in an area filled with overgrown plants, moist ground and no human interference. The creature is shown on the leaf of a gipsywort plant, a full sized plant specimen (or near full size).
Taken 10/09/2008 in Newport, South Wales, United Kingdom.
Dont mind ?
Hymenopteran
Dear Dont Mind,
We know this is the second time you have submitted this query, and we don’t know the answer. We haven’t the time to research at the moment, but we hope by posting your letter and photo, someone may write in with an answer. All we know for certain is that this is a Hymenopteran, the order that contains wasps and bees. We suspect it may be a wood wasp or sawfly, but we are not certain.
Karl provided us with a comment identifying this as an Ichneumon but he was unable to link to an image of Amblyteles armatorius. When we did a web search on the name he provided, we encountered this matching image.
Ichneumon Species-New Find!
Daniel,
In addition to the email i sent earlier, i hope you received it. I was out taking more pics of bugs today, in my yard in Houston, Texas and i happened to catch a strange little, very little, bug hitching a ride on an Ichneumons antennae. I thought it was just a piece of skin or something while taking pics. I didn’t notice the little bug til i got them on the computer. What is this lil bug?
Tracy Palmer
Hi Tracy,
It takes quite some time to plod through all of a given day’s emails, and many do not get read. This is a marvelous set of images. They depict a Pseudoscorpion hitching a ride, a practice known as Phoresy, on an Ichneumon in the genus Megarhyssa. Because so many people find Pseudoscorpions in their homes, we have devoted an entire page to them.
YellowJacket/Paper Wasp or something else?
Daniel,
Thanks for the Reply. We live in Mill Creek, just south of Everett, Western Washington State. We have a bunch of these (20+) flying low all around our front yard. My best guess would be a Paper Wasp or Yellow Jacket, but the coloring doesn’t match any of the pictures I found. Just wondering if we need to have someone come out and take care of them. We’ve check the closest tree and the house eves and don’t see any nests. They don’t seem to go into the back yard, or the neighbors front yard. They are not aggressive at all. They don’t seem to care if we are walking through the yard or not.. Thanks Again..
Stephen
hi Stephen,
Thanks for writing back so quickly and providing a location. That is so critical with many identifications. We can tell you that this is NOT a yellow jacket nor a paper wasp, but we are not exactly sure what it is and it will require some research. Meanwhile, we will also contact Eric Eaton for identification assistance.
Daniel:
The wasp is an ichneumon wasp, family Ichneumonidae. Pretty much impossible to give a more specific identification without having the actual specimen to look at under a microscope. As larvae, alll ichneumons are parasitic on other insects (spiders in a few cases).
Eric
strange insect in my garden
My sons were in the garden and noticed this "yellow headed monster" – it seemed to have a long proboscis inserted into the base of our maple tree, and its abdomen slowly started turning from black to white, as if it were emptying itself into the tree. I used a stick and "encouraged" it to remove this from the tree, and the abdomen went back to black. There were actually three long black probosces coming from the end of the abdomen. Any ideas? Thank you very much. p.s. Is there anything I can or should do about this? a friend suggested injecting vinegar into the site where the eggs were likely laid. Would this work? Thank you.
Tara
Hi Tara,
We love your letter on so many levels, but especially for the interesting way you described the oviposition of a female Giant Ichneumon, Megarhyssa atrata. This is actually a beneficial insect. She is laying eggs in wood that has wood boring grubs. Her larva will consume the grubs and not harm your trees. She has an ovipositor, not a proboscis. We are also intrigued with the vinegar suggestion. Not sure, but is sounds as if vinegar might be effective in controlling some insect pests.
What’s this bug
I spotted this bug soon after I cut a limb of a large maple tree. I’ve never seen anything like it before. What is it? Thanks,
Bob
hi Bob,
This is a female Giant Ichneumon, Megarhyssa atrata. She is ovipositing or laying eggs. She locates the tunnel of a wood boring insect and lays the egg where her larva can find the wood boring grub and begin to feed on it. Your photos are excellent. The portrait is a nice angle.
hornet-wasp bug
Was about to cut a part of a maple tree down when i was face to face with 10 of these guys, was wondering if you might know what the are. the have long tails that stretch out 4”
Mark
Hi Mar,
This is a female Megarhyssa atrata, a Giant Ichneumon. She is ovipositing, meaning using that stingerlike ovipositor to lay eggs on wood boring grubs that are feeding on the dead and dying wood of your tree. The larval Ichneumon will feed on the wood boring grubs.
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