Identification, Images, & Information
For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin
For the United States & Canada
 

Register · Log In
HomeGuideID RequestRecentFrassForumsDonateHelp
Clickable Guide
Moths Butterflies Flies Caterpillars Flies Dragonflies Flies Mantids Cockroaches Bees and Wasps Walkingsticks Earwigs Ants Termites Hoppers and Kin Hoppers and Kin Beetles True Bugs Fleas Grasshoppers and Kin Ticks Spiders Scorpions Centipedes Millipedes

Calendar
BugGuide Gathering
Smoky Mountains
University of Tennessee Biological Field Station
August 8-10, 2008
Details...
 
Photos from the last gathering (Minnesota 2007)

TaxonomyBrowseInfoImagesLinksBooksData
Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Ants, Bees, Wasps and Sawflies (Hymenoptera) » parasitic Apocrita » Braconids and Ichneumons (Ichneumonoidea) » Ichneumon Wasps (Ichneumonidae) » Rhyssinae » Giant Ichneumons (Megarhyssa) » Megarhyssa macrurus
Photo#83594
What in the world? - Megarhyssa macrurus
Copyright © 2006 the guys

What in the world? - Megarhyssa macrurus
Springfield, Greene County, Missouri, USA
October 14, 2006
Size: body-2", total-5"
found on a dead elm tree with 2 very long "feelers" buried into the wood about 2 inches deep. Very carefully pulled and prodded and got the creature loose and took these pictures.
tag · login or register to post comments
Contributed by the guys on 17 October, 2006 - 8:19am
Last updated 23 October, 2006 - 5:21pm

Moved
Moved from Orange and Brown.
… john and jane balaban, 23 October, 2006 - 5:21pm login or register to post comments

I would say
it looks like an Ichneumon wasp.. but they vary sooooo much its hard to tell, I am sure the experts will chime in with the correct genus.. now species that is another story, but I could be wrong.

Charles
… Charles Weber, 17 October, 2006 - 8:24am login or register to post comments

 
I agree with Charles
I agree with Charles, and I too will defer to others on the genus.

A number of Ichneumons have these huge long ovipositors that can be used, for example, to lay eggs deep in an old stump or log.
… Stephen Cresswell, 17 October, 2006 - 8:30am login or register to post comments

 
Must be Megarhyssa
That large, I think it has to be a Megarhyssa--compare Stephen's photograph:
… Cotinis, 17 October, 2006 - 9:39am login or register to post comments

 
Ha
Ha! I knew I had photographed one of these but I had forgotten that I had IDed it, thanks to other BugGuide photos of the genus.
… Stephen Cresswell, 17 October, 2006 - 5:14pm login or register to post comments

 
Absolutely.
Definitely a species of Megarhyssa, and a female of course.
… Eric R. Eaton, 17 October, 2006 - 3:44pm login or register to post comments

Comment viewing options
Select your preferred way to display the comments and click 'Save settings' to activate your changes.

Disclaimer: Dedicated naturalists volunteer their time and resources here to provide this service. We strive to provide accurate information, but we are mostly just amateurs attempting to make sense of a diverse natural world. If you need expert professional advice, contact your local extension office.

Contributors own the copyright to and are solely responsible for contributed content.
Click the contributor's name for licensing and usage information.
Everything else copyright © 2003-2008 Iowa State University, unless otherwise noted.

Bugguide is hosted by Iowa State University Entomology.

Printer Friendly Version 		Terms of Use
Privacy Policy
Site Map
Contact