What kind of insect is this?
Location: Ketchikan, Alaska
July 21, 2011 10:56 pm
I live in Southeast Alaska; Ketchikan to be exact. I friend of mine posted this picture on Facebook and now I really want to find out what this is! I’ve never seen anything quite like it!
Signature: Elizabeth

Giant Ichneumon

Hi Elizabeth,
This is a Giant Ichneumon in the genus Megarhyssa.  Though this is not the best image we have received of a Giant Ichneumon, it does show the long ovipositor that is often mistaken for a stinger.  Many stinging insects have evolved so that the ovipositor has also been modified into the stinger which only the female possesses.  The Giant Ichneumon does not have a stinger, but the ovipositor is used to lay eggs beneath the bark of trees that have been infested by the wood boring larvae of various wood wasps, including the Pigeon Horntail.  Your email has us excited because we do not get many insect identification requests from Alaska, and also because we did not realize the Giant Ichneumons ranged that far north.  We believe your species is Megarhyssa nortoni since its colors and markings match and the species is found in the Pacific Northwest.  Here is the BugGuide page on Megarhyssa nortoni.

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Beetle? Fly? Wasp?
Location: Radcliffe, Lancashire, NW UK.
June 30, 2011 11:18 am
Hi, I have today found an insect and I have no clue what it is. Dimensions are included on one of the pictures. I have performed a search online but can find nothing like it, the closest in terms of shape would be the Snake Fly. 30/06/2011, weather slightly breezy, intermittent clouds/sun and 16 degrees celsius.
Many thanks for your help,
Chris.
Signature: CPS

Ichneumon

Hi Chris,
This is a Parasitoid Wasp known as an Ichneumon.  The closest match on the Bugs and Weeds website is identified as Ichneumon suspiciosus agg. and this is the information that is provided:  “Like many Ichneumon species, this is a member of an aggregate group of very similar looking species (hence the ‘agg.’ suffix) that cannot be definitively identified without recourse to close microscopic scrutiny.  The yellow and black banded antennae and legs and an overall length of 15mm (excluding antennae) suggests that it might possibly be Ich. suspiciosus – or something similar!  It is an endoparasite of moth larvae. That is, the adult female ichneumon inserts an egg under the skin of a caterpillar and the resultant wasp larva will slowly develop internally within the caterpillar until the caterpillar enters pupation. The parasite will then enter its own pupation and, on completion of its metamorphosis, will be the sole adult insect to emerge.  This will take place in summer or autumn and the emergent adult will hibernate throughout the winter to fly again in spring coincident with the emegence of adult moths and the next generation of their caterpillars.“  UK Safari also has a photo.  Your individual is black and white, but it looks very similar.  We suspect it is a closely related species.  It should be noted that Ichneumons can be very difficult to accurately identify to the species level.  The ISpot website has a very close match that is not identified.

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Its huge!
Location: Southern New York State (Corning)
June 3, 2011 2:42 pm
We discovered this little guy when we were outside today, the tail on it was about three inches long to give you an idea of the size. I personally have never seen anything with a tail on it, much less the size this thing is.
Signature: Thanks!

Giant Ichneumon

This is a female Giant Ichneumon, the second image we received the same day.  The photo we just finished posting shows the female in the act of using that lengthy ovipositor to place her eggs deep within the wood of a tree infested with wood boring larvae.

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What’s This Bug?
Location: Chicago land
March 4, 2011 12:37 am
I Found this ant like insect on my basement workbench, I thought it was a regular old ant, but I noticed the stinger on it’s back. I’m in the Chicago land area and the outside temperatures got above freezing this day (3-2-11) it’s real small about 1/8 of an inch (I used a 60mm macro lens with a extension tube)
Thanks
Signature: Bill G

Flightless Ichneumon

Hi Bill,
We can only surmise that this is some species of flightless Parasitic Wasp.  We need to rush off and cannot research this at the moment, though we have requested assistance from Eric Eaton.  Moments before posting, we decided to try to locate any Flightless Ichneumons, and BugGuide has numerous images in the genus Gelis.  BugGuide states:  “Many species of Gelis are wingless. Habits are diverse. Many are external parasites of Lepidoptera in cocoons, others are parasitic on Symphyta, spiders, Diptera larvae and pupae, or wood-boring Coleoptera larvae. Many are Hyperparasites.”

Eric Eaton provides confirmation
Daniel:
Wow! Great image of an adult female ichneumon wasp in the genus Gelis:

http://bugguide.net/node/view/41499

May I use this image in one of my blogs I wonder?
Eric

sure he can use it, no problem and thanks for the info, BTW is this bug  a common thing or something that I should be concerned about? since I found another one by my back door.
also great web site you have, it’s now bookmarked
Thanks
Bill Grenchik

Hi Bill,
We are copying Eric Eaton with your response.  There is no need to be concerned regarding the Ichneumon.  We understand that some Ichneumons are capable of stinging, but that is a rare occurrence if they are carelessly handled.

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