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Photo#247376
Megarhyssa ichneumon wasps at Duman's Dam Park Nicktown PA Aug 2008 - Megarhyssa macrurus - female

Megarhyssa ichneumon wasps at Duman's Dam Park Nicktown PA Aug 2008 - Megarhyssa macrurus - Female
Duman's Dam County Park Nicktown PA, Cambria County, Pennsylvania, USA
August 31, 2008
Size: Body=5cm Ovipositor=10cm
This looks to be the same species of ichneumon wasp, Megarhyssa megacrurus, as observed by Robert Ganz in downtown Montreal Quebec Canada in June 2005 & posted on BugGuide. Like Mr. Ganz, I observed these wasps depositing eggs on a maple tree. I was able to see the wasp's abdomen and ovipositor pulsing as she drilled and deposited the eggs deep into the wood of a red maple tree. I also observed what was presumably another species of megarhyssa ichneumon, dark blue with a yellow face, laying eggs with the megacrurus on the same maple. The wasps seemed to preferred bare sections of the trunk with wood exposed- I did not see any laying eggs into the bark. Perhaps a dozen wasps swarmed over this tree while I was watching and protecting them from my young nephew, Drew. I observed these 2 species of wasps at Duman's Dam County Park, Nicktown, Cambria County, in western Pennsylvania on 31 August 2008, during my annual family reunion over Labor Day Weekend. Duman's Dam is located at 40°34'2.65"N Latitude, 78°50'27.10"W Longitude.

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