Subject: What is this??
Geographic location of the bug: Southwest iowa
Date: 06/19/2019
Time: 07:37 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman: What is this? Looks like a wasp but for its tail like thing and design on body. Tail thing comes out of body about 1/4″ from end of body! Coin in the picture is a quarter for visual comparison.
How you want your letter signed: Concerned Mimi
Dear Concerned Mimi,
This is a harmless, beneficial Giant Ichneumon in the genus Megarhyssa, sometimes called a Stump Stabber because the female uses her lengthy ovipositor to lay her eggs in diseased and dying trees where the larvae will be able to feed on the the wood boring larvae of Horntails. We believe your individual is Megarhyssa macrurus.