Competition
The female closest to me did all the work. She used her sensitive antennae to locate a sawfly larva inside the tree trunk. She carefully calculated the exact location to drill into the wood to reach the larva, paralyze it and deliver an egg to it. She is in the drilling stage here. The 2nd female behind her is hoping to harass her enough for her to give up & leave. That way the 2nd female can use the existing hole and deliver her own egg. I read the females will duel with their antennae sometimes when competing for the same egg host. This explains why there were several females on the same tree trunk. Some were drilling into the wood and others were harassing the drilling ones.
Female Long-tailed Giant Ichneumon Wasps (Megarhyssa macrurus ssp. macrurus)
Spring Creek Nature Area, Richardson
My photos can also be found at kapturedbykala.com
Competition
The female closest to me did all the work. She used her sensitive antennae to locate a sawfly larva inside the tree trunk. She carefully calculated the exact location to drill into the wood to reach the larva, paralyze it and deliver an egg to it. She is in the drilling stage here. The 2nd female behind her is hoping to harass her enough for her to give up & leave. That way the 2nd female can use the existing hole and deliver her own egg. I read the females will duel with their antennae sometimes when competing for the same egg host. This explains why there were several females on the same tree trunk. Some were drilling into the wood and others were harassing the drilling ones.
Female Long-tailed Giant Ichneumon Wasps (Megarhyssa macrurus ssp. macrurus)
Spring Creek Nature Area, Richardson
My photos can also be found at kapturedbykala.com