EIPHOSOMA WASP

EIPHOSOMA WASP

Eiphosoma sp.
ICHNEUMONID WASP FAMILY (Ichneumonidae)

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A small, delicate wasp, about 1/2 inch long (12 mm), with long legs, yellow thorax with black stripes, reddish-brown abdomen with black ovipositor. Hind legs are red and black. Eyes are dark brown and face is yellow. Wings are clear with a black stigma on the leading edge of the forewing.

This wasp is probably uncommon in this area. It has been seen and photographed once, on 11 October, in the wetlands pollinator garden in Fontenelle Forest. This wasp is a member of the subfamily Cremastinae. Most members of this family are found in the tropics or subtropics.

Eiphosoma wasps are parasitoids of moth larvae. There are 51 described neotropical species. The number of species in the genus Eiphosoma in North America is unknown. Worldwide there are 30 genera in the subfamily Cremastinae and 320 species in 11 genera north of Mexico.

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