As always, What's That Bug came through for me:
http://whatsthatbug.com/ichneumons.html
This is one of the Giant Ichneumons in the genus Megarhyssa, probably Megarhyssa macrurus. Giant Ichneumons are non-stinging relatives of wasps. This female is ovipositing. The long stingerlike "tail" is her ovipositor and it enables her to lay eggs deep in borer infested wood. The food for the young Megarhyssa is the larval form of wood boring insects like Horntails.
I never cease to be amazed that I can have lived for plenty of years so far and yet be surprised on a daily basis by things I've never seen before. I shouldn't be surprised, as there are approximately 10 million kinds of bugs in this world, but I am.
3 comments:
A friend of a friend just sent her a pic of one! Beautiful!
I recently found one(queen with long ovipositor) on my dogs water dish.I am in lower Alabama near Dothan Al.
WOW ! Awesome insect. It's the ONLY one I have encountered during my more than 50 years of insect watching. Unfortunately, my 17 yr.old son killed her. Yes,I scolded him.
It actually mimicked the aggressive behavior of a stinging wasp. Beautiful insect.She moved very slow and cautiously because of her leginess and the long ovipositor.
We just found one on our screen porch in Afton, Minnesota
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