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Photo#121883
Looks like a Giant Ichneumon Wasp, but coloring is darker w/ big green lima bean abdomen ending - Megarhyssa atrata

Looks like a Giant Ichneumon Wasp, but coloring is darker w/ big green lima bean abdomen ending - Megarhyssa atrata
Mianus Preserve in Bedford, Westchester County, New York, USA
June 24, 2007
Size: 3+ inch
As mentioned in title, it looks like a Giant Ichneumon Wasp laying eggs, but the coloring is much darker and the green abdomen tip is very different, but I could not find in any Field Guide. I also uploaded 2 videos of it laying eggs, long time to download (14mb) but worth it if you can ID it: http://kimpact.org/images/Insects/DSCN2876.MOV, http://kimpact.org/images/Insects/DSCN2877.MOV

Megarhyssa.
This is a female Megarhyssa atrata (atra?). The "lima bean" is a membrane, but how it functions is a mystery to me, anyway. Nice shot.

 
Thanks!
That was speedy and accurate, wahoo! We were wondering if it was an invasive species, guess I'll Google it more. The lima bean butt (very techie term) houses the ovipositor, it was coiled up in there and pulsated as it was depositing eggs. You can see in the video, very creepy but cool, sorry it takes so long to download.

 
Double tail/single tail/stinger
Do the females only have double tails (ovipositors)? I found one with two long "tails" and a short one (stinger, I presume) yesterday, but in my search for its identity, I've found photos of at least one with just one very long tail (ovipositor or stinger?).

The one I found was headless, yet its nervous system was active for at least an hour or two after I found it, more so when touched, or when the ants were snacking on it.

What do these wasps eat?

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