This Ichneumon Wasp is about .5 inch long. It has a black head and thorax. The red and black abdomen is long and pointed at the tip. The front 2 pairs of legs are orange. The hind legs are banded red, white and black. This wasp was identified by a volunteer expert at the BugGuide website.
The frequency of occurrence is not known. It has been photographed in Fontenelle Forest in early June. It has one of the greatest geographic ranges of any Ichneumon wasp probably as a result of human agriculture which has spread it along with aphids and aphid eating syrphid flies. It ranges from the Canadian Arctic to Argentina, Norway to South Africa and Japan to New Zealand.
The larvae of this wasp feed mostly on syrphid fly larvae that in turn feed on aphids. The adult wasp emerges from the puparium of the syrphid fly. Males are extremely rare as the females are mostly parthenogenic and do not require fertilization by males to reproduce.
The content of NatureSearch is provided by dedicated volunteer Naturalists of Fontenelle Forest who strive to provide the most accurate information available. Contributors of the images retain their copyrights. The point of contact for this page is: Babs Padelford.