Giant Ichneumon Wasp

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Beneficial Species Profile Photo credit: Copyright Bruce Marlin, Mike McCarthy Common Name: Giant Ichneumon Wasp Scientific Name: Megarhyssa macrurus Order and Family: Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae Size and Appearance: Length (mm) Appearance Egg Tiny and threadlike, deposited on the surface of the living Pigeon Horntail Wasp larvae within decayed wood. Larva/Nymph Larvae consume their host within the decayed wood. Adult Female body 51mm, ovipositor Head and thorax are red or reddish 100mm brown, abdomen has transverse bands of black and pale yellow Male smaller than female, no stripes. The legs are red. Wings are ovipositor. tan/clear with a triangluar black mark on the leading edge of the forewing near the tip. The antennae are long, slender and black. The ovipositer is very long, filamentous, and black. Pupa (if applicable) Pupa remains dormant under tree bark and emerges the following summer. Type of feeder (Chewing, sucking, etc.): Larvae: chewing Host/s: Pigeon Horntail Wasp Description of Benefits (predator, parasitoid, pollinator, etc.): The Giant Ichneumon Wasp is a parasitoid of the Pigeon Horntail Wasp larvae, and is associated with several species of dying hardwood trees (silver maple, ash, cottonwood, elm). The female uses her long ovipositor to deposit eggs deep into trees where her larvae will feed on the Pigeon Horntail Wasp larvae. References: Barlow, V. (2010). Giant Ichneumon Wasp. Northern Woodlands Magazine. http://northernwoodlands.org/articles/article/giant-ichneumon-wasp Cranshaw, W. (2004). Garden Insects of North America: The Ultimate Guide to Backyard Bugs. Princeton, NJ: Princeton UP. Print. Cranshaw, W. (2013). Pigeon Tremex Horntail and the Giant Ichneumon Wasp – 5.604. Colorado State University Extension. http://extension.colostate.edu/topic-areas/insects/pigeon- tremex-horntail-and-the-giant-ichneumon-wasp-5-604/ "What Is This Wasp With a 4 Inch Long Thready Tail?" Natural Crooks Ramblings. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Apr. 2016. http://naturalcrooks.com/rambles/what-is-this-wasp-with-a-4-inch-long-thready- tail/ .

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Geo.Acta Vol 2(1)
Geologica Acta, Vol.2, Nº1, 2004, 83-94 Available online at www.geologica-acta.com A new fossil ichneumon wasp from the Lowermost Eocene amber of Paris Basin (France), with a checklist of fossil Ichneumonoidea s.l. (Insecta: Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae: Metopiinae) J.-J. MENIER, A. NEL, A. WALLER and G. DE PLOËG Laboratoire d’Entomologie and CNRS UMR 8569, Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle 45 rue Buffon, F-75005 Paris, France. Menier E-mail: [email protected] Nel E-mail: [email protected] ABSTRACT We describe a new fossil genus and species Palaeometopius eocenicus of Ichneumonidae Metopiinae (Insecta: Hymenoptera), from the Lowermost Eocene amber of the Paris Basin. A list of the described fossil Ichneu- monidae is proposed. KEYWORDS Insecta. Hymenoptera. Ichneumonidae. n. gen., n. sp. Eocene amber. France. List of fossil species. INTRODUCTION Nevertheless, the present fossil record suggests that the family was already very diverse during the Eocene and Fossil ichneumonid wasps are not rare. Brues (1910a) Oligocene. listed 12 genera in the Baltic amber and 34 genera in the Oligocene Florissant shales (U.S.A.). Statz (1938) listed We describe the first fossil representative of the sub- 124 species of fossil Ichneumonidae from eight lacustrine family Metopiinae, discovered in the Lowermost Eocene outcrops ranging between the Eocene and the Miocene, amber of the Paris basin. The present discovery supports and only 15 species from the Upper Eocene Baltic amber. the hypothesis of a high diversity of the Ichneumonidae Currently, circa 190 species have been described (see during the Paleogene. We follow the standard conven- appendix). Fossil taxa from lacustrine outcrops are main- tions for wing veins proposed by Mason (1986) and the ly based on wing venational characters.
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Alien Dominance of the Parasitoid Wasp Community Along an Elevation Gradient on Hawai’I Island
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UFRJ a Paleoentomofauna Brasileira
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Chalcid Forum Chalcid Forum
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Redalyc.A New Fossil Ichneumon Wasp from the Lowermost Eocene Amber
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Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae
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Viewed in Larsson (1975), but Apparently Remains Largely Understudied
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