Species: Ichneumon wasp - unnamed 3 (Hepiopelmus variegatorius)
Family: Ichneumon wasps (ICHNEUMONIDAE)
Category: Insects (Other)
Location: Widespread
A. Insects (Other)
More extensive information on insects can be found in a separate blog post.
B. Ichneumon wasps (ICHNEUMONIDAE)
Ichneumon wasps are a family of 'parasitoids' that usually attack the caterpillars of butterflies and moths (and other insects and spiders). Unlike social wasps, these parasites are solitary.
Although they share the characteristic 'wasp waist' with their social wasp cousins, the ichneumons are generally long and thin, having notably long antennae (usually with 16 segments, compared to the 13 or less of other wasps). If you are lucky enough to see these flighty insects, you may notice their antennae moving rapidly from side to side, indicating that they are probably hunting for prey using a 'stereo-smell' function that enables them to locate prey using olfactory information detected by receptor neurons in their antennae.
C. Ichneumon wasp - unnamed 3 (Hepiopelmus variegatorius)
This wasp is a parasite of Ermine moths in Britain. The females do this with their ovipositor, depositing eggs inside their caterpillars. These hatch inside the living host, devouring it until the wasps pupate.
Adult wasps of this species are about 14 millimetres long. The arrangement of the yellow and black markings are key to identifying this wasp to the species level, the yellow horseshoe shape behind the creature's head being especially diagnostic.
It is not known how widespread this insect is in Britain. The one shown here was photographed in the cemetery in mid-August 2023.
Images
Ichneumon wasp - unnamed 3 (Hepiopelmus variegatorius)
This wasp is a parasite of Ermine moths in Britain.
Ichneumon wasp - unnamed 3 (Hepiopelmus variegatorius)
The females parasitize certain caterpillars using their ovipositor, depositing eggs inside them. These hatch inside the living host, devouring it until they pupate.
The wasp photographed here is a male, as it lacks an ovipositor.
Ichneumon wasp - unnamed 3 (Hepiopelmus variegatorius)
It is not known how widespread this insect is in Britain.
