Mystery Bug
I have taken pictures of this bug now for the last two years but it has been coming to a tree in my yard for the last four years and around the same time each year. The pictures I have are from 2006 and 2007 in early to late June. The first three years there was only one of these bugs. In 2007 there was family. I hope you can let me know what kind of insect this is. Thanks,
Bryan Soukup
Hi Bryan,
The group photo you have submitted shows a group of Giant Ichneumons, Megarhyssa atrata, in the process of laying eggs and probably mating. The female has the long stinger-like ovipositor that she uses to lay eggs in the wood. The food for the larvae are wood boring grubs. The males are smaller and do not possess the ovipositor. The single image is of a female. The Giant Ichneumons will not sting you as they are incabable. We wish your group photo had been closer. Perhaps this year you can get us a nice close-up of the males and females together.
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”
WNY Wasps
Fantastic site! These wasps(?) were located at the edge of a hollowed out section of a tree in southwestern New York State. Could they be male and female American Pelecinid Wasps? I’m not positive because their coloration is somewhat different from others I have seen. Thanks.
Kevin
Hi Kevin,
We believe these are male Giant Ichneumons, Megarhyssa atrata. Eric Eaton writes on BugGuide: “I did some reading recently, and apparently that shovel-like appendange on the end of his abdomen allows him to mate with a female while she is still in the tree, prior to her emergence! Sometimes you will see a group of males waiting patiently for a female to emerge from a log or dead standing tree.”
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.
Giant ichneumon wasp
I thought you might want a pic of a giant ichneumon wasp. Body length: 3 inches, ovipositor: 3.5 inches, total 6.5 inches! At first I thought it was some type of crane fly, because it did not have the typical wasp shape, but I think it is a megarhyssa ichneumon wasp. It let me get to as close as 12 inches then got nervous if I got closer. The stump is a maple stump. It is trying to lay eggs in an existing hole.
Chuck
Grand Rapids, MI
Hi Chuck,
This is an Ichnuemon, Megarhyssa macrurus.
more Giant Ichneumon
Hi Folks,
Here are a few nice pics of (what I assume are) Giant Ichneumon from trees in our yard. Take care,
Andre Paquette
Hi Andre,
Thanks for sending us your images of two female Megarhyssa atrata laying eggs.
bug with long tail
I figured out from your website that this is probably the Giant Ichneumon. I just thought you might like a couple of more pictures. These were taken on a dead stump in a suburb of Minneapolis, MN.
Mike
Hi Mike,
Thank you for sending in your lovely image of Megarhyssa atrata, the most commonly depicted Giant Ichneumon in written texts. IT is your second photo that really impresses us. You have captured that female Megarhyssa atrata ovipositing while a female Megarhyssa macrurus (we believe) looks on. Your photos are great.
Huge Hornet or Wasp?
Hi I found this on one of our trees in the front yard. I wanted to know if you could tell me what kind of bug it is and what it’s doing with it’s extremely long tail?
Scott
Hi there Scott,
This is one of the Giant Ichneumons in the genus Megarhyssa, probably Megarhyssa macrurus. Giant Ichneumons are non-stinging relatives of wasps. This female is ovipositing. The long stingerlike “tail” is her ovipositor and it enables her to lay eggs deep in borer infested wood. The food for the young Megarhyssa is the larval form of wood boring insects like Horntails.
Hi Bug Man,
We found this wasp like insect today. We have never seen anything like it. Hope you can tell us something about it. The first photo is taken up against a yellow lighter that is 8cm long. Looking forward to hearing from you. Many thanks and best wishes,
Tina Chambers
Wanganui
New Zealand
Hi Tina,
This is a species of Ichneumon. Ichneumons are parasitic wasps. Many lay eggs deep inside wood where the host wood-boring insects live.
What is this?
Our 3 1/2 year old son Jacob found this in our wood pile today (4/11) and we have no idea what it is. We live in Northern California.
Sara & Jacob Ysunza
Hi Sara and Jacob,
This is an Ichneumon. Ichnuemons are nonstinging relatives of wasps. The female uses her long ovipositor to deposit eggs into the host insect. Many Ichneumons parasitize wood boring insects, hence her presence in a wood pile. Our guess is that this is a species of Arotes.
Can you help me identify this skyscraper bug???
I spotted this interesting bug on the outside of a window on the 39th floor of a skyscraper in downtown Chicago. Is it an Ichneumon? It was not very large, maybe and inch and a half in length (including the stinger/ovipositer). I can’t seem to find out exactly what it is, and the fact that it was so high up on the building has me stumped. I see spiders in abundance outside the windows at certain times of the year, but never anything like this.
Thanks,
Nicole
Wow Nicole,
This is the best photo we have received in a long long time. Yes, it is an Ichnuemon.
Weird Waspy Looking Thing
Hi WTB,
We live in Clearwater, FL and found this sort of waspy looking bug on the side of the garage. We’ve never seen anything quite like it and wondered if you could help us identify it! Thanks.
Martin & Lisa Hine
Hi Martin and Lisa,
We believe this to be an Ichneumon. Ichneumons belong to the order Hymenoptera which includes wasps. Ichneumons are important parasite species that lay eggs singly on a host insect. The larva then begins to eat the internal organs which results in the death of the host. If it were not for Ichnuemons, other species of insects would overpopulate, hence they are important in the balance of nature.
rss
