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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Ants, Bees, Wasps and Sawflies (Hymenoptera) » Sawflies, Horntails, and Wood Wasps » Horntails (Siricidae) » Xeris » Xeris spectrum
Photo#40720
Cascades Wasp - Xeris spectrum - female
Copyright © 2005 John C Sullivan

Cascades Wasp - Xeris spectrum - Female
Burn area south of Mt. Jefferson, Carl Lake Trail ~ 5000 ft. elevation, Jefferson County, Oregon, USA
July 16, 2005
Size: 2.5" including ovipositor
I watched this wasp feel around on the burned bark for several minutes with her antenna.
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Contributed by John C Sullivan on 10 January, 2006 - 11:56pm
Last updated 19 January, 2006 - 5:08pm

yes,
and do know what it was doing feeling around the bark? this female was searching for some species of beetles that live under the bark of wood. when she senses them she will stick her long ovipositor in and lay her eggs on them which will become ectoparasites of the beetle. AWESOME
… Omar Fahmy, 15 January, 2006 - 6:01am login or register to post comments

 
Not so!
This comment may be late in coming but it is needed. This species like all Siricids feeds on wood. It is not a parasite of a wood feeding beetle but a pest of wood itself. Read the information page and the references.
… Beatriz Moisset, 19 July, 2009 - 9:12pm login or register to post comments

Whoah!
Holy cow! I collected pretty extensively in Oregon when I lived there, but never saw anything like this. Pretty sure this is a horntail woodwasp, family Siricidae, but the ovipositor seems extraordinarily long. Nice shot, great addition to Bugguide (both geographically and species-wise).
… Eric R. Eaton, 11 January, 2006 - 12:07pm login or register to post comments

 
Update.
I had my friend Nathan Schiff, an expert in siricids, look at this, and he easily and quickly determined it as Xeris spectrum. I'll create a guide page. He reminded me that siricids are woodborers as larvae. They have a symbiotic relationship with a fungus that helps (pre?)digest the cellulose. Great image!
… Eric R. Eaton, 19 January, 2006 - 5:07pm login or register to post comments

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