Horse Hair Tail Insect
Sat, Jun 20, 2009 at 5:49 PM
These weird looking bugs are hanging around tree stumps, which have many holes in them. I don’t know if these insects made the holes or if they are trying to lay eggs in them, or get at the bugs in the dead stumps. The tail is almost like a strand of horse hair, about 4 inches long. The head, front legs and tentacles are bright yellow. It has a narrow body (black) about 1 1/2 inches in length and the wings are purple in color, 1 inch in length. As you can see in one of the pictures, the tail turns into a light green circular thing and the tail looks like it is rolled up in it. Then it will lose this thing and again have the horse hair like tail again. They also can fly. What the heck are these things?
Linda Mueller
St. Paul, Minnesota
Giant Ichneumon
Good Evening Linda,
You have Giant Ichneumons, Megarhyssa atrata, non-stinging relatives of wasps. Giant Ichnuemons parasitize the larvae of wood boring insects like the Pigeon Horntail. The female Giant Ichneumons locate the grubs deep inside the wood, and then use their stinger-like ovipositor to deposit an egg inside the tunnel inhabited by the larva. When the egg hatches, the larval Giant Ichneumon locates the wood boring larva and parasitizes it. The holes you saw were probably produced when the wood boring larvae emerged as adults, or possibly by the Giant Ichneumon when it emerged.
Giant Ichneumon
¶ Posted 20 June 2009 § ‡ ° Looks like a dragonfly, with wasp-like markings
Sun, May 24, 2009 at 6:31 PM
I saw this insect on the side of my house, it was roughly 2 inches long with a similar wingspread. I’m assuming it’s some kind of dragonfly, based on the mouth, wings, and body. I’ve never seen one with markings like this though, it reminds me of a wasp, with striking yellow-on-black. I also don’t recall seeing a dragonfly with antennae ever before. Any idea what this guy is?
Kyle, Hatfield MA
Hatfield, MA
Male Giant Ichenumon
Dear Kyle,
This is a male Giant Ichneumon in the genus Megarhyssa. Giant Ichneumons are parasitoids that are closely related to wasps, but they do not sting. Your photo is of particular significance because of its high quality and also because we very infrequently receive images of male Giant Ichneumons. In July 2007, we received a wonderful image of several males awaiting the emergence of a female. BugGuide has a photo of a male Megarhyssa atrata, the species we believe you have photographed, and the posting contains a significant commentary posing the possibility that it might be a related species, Megarhyssa macrurus, also a possibility in your case. Most of the images we receive of Giant Ichneumons are of females, and a large number are ovipositing. The female has an ovipositor that can be as long as four inches, and many of our readers mistake this for a stinger. The female uses her ovipositor to deposit eggs deep inside dead and dying wood that contains wood boring grubs, often the larvae of the Pigeon Horntail.
¶ Posted 25 May 2009 § ‡ ° 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
¶ Posted 06 May 2009 § ‡ ° 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.
¶ Posted 28 March 2009 § ‡ ° 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.
¶ Posted 27 March 2009 § ‡ ° 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.
¶ Posted 24 December 2008 § ‡ ° 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.
¶ Posted 08 December 2008 § ‡ ° 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.
¶ Posted 20 November 2008 § ‡ ° 
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