| Megarhyssa macrurus | |
|---|---|
| Megarhyssa macrurus female | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Ichneumonidae |
| Subfamily: | Rhyssinae |
| Genus: | Megarhyssa |
| Species: | M. macrurus |
| Binomial name | |
| Megarhyssa macrurus (Linnaeus, 1771) |
|
Megarhyssa macrurus (common name giant ichneumon wasp),[1] is a species of large ichneumon wasp.[2]
It is a predatory insect, notable for its extremely long ovipositor. It uses this to deposit an egg into the tunnel bored by another species of wasp.
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Macrurus is from the Greek words makrós (μακρός) meaning "long", and oùrá (οὐρά) meaning tail.[3]
Megarhyssa macrurus has a reddish-brown body approximately 2 inches (51 mm) long. It has black and yellow-orange stripes.[1] Its wings are transparent and the body elongated. The female of this species has an ovipositor of approximately 4 inches (100 mm) in length.[4] Males are smaller (and have no ovipositor).[1]
The ovipositor appears as a single filament, but it comprises three filaments. The middle filament is the actual ovipositor which is capable of drilling into wood. This middle filament looks like a single filament, but is made of two parts. These parts have a cutting edge at the tip. They interlock and slide against each other.
Although very thin, it is a tube and the egg moves down the minute channel in its center during egg laying. Two other thin filaments serve as protection for the ovipositor. They arc out to the sides during egg laying.[1]
This species of wasp is found in various locations in the United States.[4]
Megarhyssa macrurus is considered harmless to humans.[1][5] Its species are predatory insects. On the trunks of dead trees, they seek out the tunnels created by their natural enemy, another species of wasp, the pigeon tremex horntail (Tremex columba). Pigeon horntails are wood-borers. They tunnel into the dead wood, and deposit an egg.
Megarhyssa macrurus seeks out these tunnels. They are able to detect pigeon horntail larva through the bark of the dead or dying tree. When the female finds one, she drills into the wood to reach the larva. After laying her egg next to the larvae of the pigeon horntail, she will sting the larva, paralyzing it. The Megarhyssa macrurus larvae will then completely consume the paralyzed larva within a couple of weeks. It will then pupate and remain under the bark of the wood until the next summer, at which time it will emerge as an adult.[4][1]
Subspecies include:[6]