6265 Laying Eggs 1
The old dead chokecherry finally broke near the ground and 3 species of Ichneumon wasps were laying eggs in the stump. This one is alternating brown and yellow. Body around 1 in long with much longer ovipositor. Home, Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. 15 June 2023
I didn't realize there could be such a variation in size in the species but 2 experts agree on inaturalist. I guess that would make it 2 species, not 3. Small laying female, only 1 in long body.
Source: Wikipedia
Megarhyssa macrurus, also known as the long-tailed giant ichneumonid wasp[1] or long-tailed giant ichneumon wasp,[2] is a species of large ichneumon wasp.[3] It is a parasitoid, notable for its extremely long ovipositor which it uses to deposit an egg into a tunnel in dead wood bored by its host, the larva of a similarly large species of horntail.
Description
Megarhyssa macrurus has a reddish-brown body of up to 2 inches (51 mm) long.[5] It has black and yellow-orange stripes.[6] Its wings are transparent and the body elongated. The body and ovipositor together can be more than 5 inches (130 mm) long in the female. Males are smaller and have no ovipositor.[6]
The ovipositor
The ovipositor looks like a single filament, but it comprises three filaments, the middle one of which is the actual ovipositor, which is capable of drilling into wood. This central filament also appears to be a single filament, but is made of two parts, with a cutting edge at the tip. The two parts interlock and slide against each other.
Although very thin, the ovipositor is a tube and the egg being laid moves down a minute channel in its center. The outer two filaments are sheaths which protect the ovipositor; they arc out to the sides during egg-laying.[6]
Distribution
M. macrurus is found across the eastern half of the United States, reaching into the extreme south of Canada near the Great Lakes.[7]
Behaviour
Pigeon tremex horntail (Tremex columba)
M. macrurus is harmless to humans;[6][8] they are parasitoids on the larvae of the pigeon horntail (Tremex columba, Symphyta), which bore tunnels in decaying wood.[9] Female Megarhyssa macrurus are able to detect these larvae through the bark; they paralyse them and lay their eggs on the living but paralysed larva; within a couple of weeks the Megarhyssa larvae will have consumed their host and pupate, emerging as an adult the following summer.[6] www.inaturalist.org/taxa/47963-Megarhyssa-macrurus
'There is no other North American Megarhyssa species with two black spots on the wings. The patterns on the metasoma (abdomin) can vary somewhat between individuals. See bugguide.net/node/view/84171' enature comment on inaturalist.
Identification
Females of M. macrurus are distinguished from those of M. greenei by having the forewing pigmented along the basal vein (such that 2-3 distinct regions of pigmentation are present) and by the longer ovipositor length of about 2.2-2.3x the body length (3.0x forewing length). They also have dark vertical stripes on the face.(2)
Males are distinguished from all other species in the genus by the presence of pigmentation on the forewing (at the base of cell 2R1). They are also the only members of the species to have vertical lines on the face.(2)
Range
e NA to Rocky Mtns. / n. Mex. (BG data)
Food
Larvae parasitize Pigeon horntail (Tremex columba, Siricidae)
- Range: e. NA to Calif.
inaturalist.ca/observations/168606284
6265 Laying Eggs 1
The old dead chokecherry finally broke near the ground and 3 species of Ichneumon wasps were laying eggs in the stump. This one is alternating brown and yellow. Body around 1 in long with much longer ovipositor. Home, Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. 15 June 2023
I didn't realize there could be such a variation in size in the species but 2 experts agree on inaturalist. I guess that would make it 2 species, not 3. Small laying female, only 1 in long body.
Source: Wikipedia
Megarhyssa macrurus, also known as the long-tailed giant ichneumonid wasp[1] or long-tailed giant ichneumon wasp,[2] is a species of large ichneumon wasp.[3] It is a parasitoid, notable for its extremely long ovipositor which it uses to deposit an egg into a tunnel in dead wood bored by its host, the larva of a similarly large species of horntail.
Description
Megarhyssa macrurus has a reddish-brown body of up to 2 inches (51 mm) long.[5] It has black and yellow-orange stripes.[6] Its wings are transparent and the body elongated. The body and ovipositor together can be more than 5 inches (130 mm) long in the female. Males are smaller and have no ovipositor.[6]
The ovipositor
The ovipositor looks like a single filament, but it comprises three filaments, the middle one of which is the actual ovipositor, which is capable of drilling into wood. This central filament also appears to be a single filament, but is made of two parts, with a cutting edge at the tip. The two parts interlock and slide against each other.
Although very thin, the ovipositor is a tube and the egg being laid moves down a minute channel in its center. The outer two filaments are sheaths which protect the ovipositor; they arc out to the sides during egg-laying.[6]
Distribution
M. macrurus is found across the eastern half of the United States, reaching into the extreme south of Canada near the Great Lakes.[7]
Behaviour
Pigeon tremex horntail (Tremex columba)
M. macrurus is harmless to humans;[6][8] they are parasitoids on the larvae of the pigeon horntail (Tremex columba, Symphyta), which bore tunnels in decaying wood.[9] Female Megarhyssa macrurus are able to detect these larvae through the bark; they paralyse them and lay their eggs on the living but paralysed larva; within a couple of weeks the Megarhyssa larvae will have consumed their host and pupate, emerging as an adult the following summer.[6] www.inaturalist.org/taxa/47963-Megarhyssa-macrurus
'There is no other North American Megarhyssa species with two black spots on the wings. The patterns on the metasoma (abdomin) can vary somewhat between individuals. See bugguide.net/node/view/84171' enature comment on inaturalist.
Identification
Females of M. macrurus are distinguished from those of M. greenei by having the forewing pigmented along the basal vein (such that 2-3 distinct regions of pigmentation are present) and by the longer ovipositor length of about 2.2-2.3x the body length (3.0x forewing length). They also have dark vertical stripes on the face.(2)
Males are distinguished from all other species in the genus by the presence of pigmentation on the forewing (at the base of cell 2R1). They are also the only members of the species to have vertical lines on the face.(2)
Range
e NA to Rocky Mtns. / n. Mex. (BG data)
Food
Larvae parasitize Pigeon horntail (Tremex columba, Siricidae)
- Range: e. NA to Calif.
inaturalist.ca/observations/168606284