In our yard yesterday, SE WI
2.0.3 Hyla versicolor "Eastern Gray Tree Frogs"
2.2.0 Agalychnis callidryas "Red Eyed Tree Frogs"
0.0.3 Dendrobates auratus "Turquoise and Bronze"
0.0.1 Anaxyrus fowleri "Fowler's Toad"
You might want to PM View Profile: JeffreH - Frog Forum to make sure he sees this, he's quite amazing when it comes to bugs. Or put it on the ID request area of Welcome to BugGuide.Net! - BugGuide.Net, they're also pretty darn amazing over there.
It may be impossible to id to species level from the pic.
I was thinking the pic was not so great also. Someone suggested a sawfly (ironically it landed next to our saw hahaha) Thanks for the advice
2.0.3 Hyla versicolor "Eastern Gray Tree Frogs"
2.2.0 Agalychnis callidryas "Red Eyed Tree Frogs"
0.0.3 Dendrobates auratus "Turquoise and Bronze"
0.0.1 Anaxyrus fowleri "Fowler's Toad"
It isn't a sawfly (close, but not quite) - but a female parasitic wasp ('Parasitica') who might be searching for an oviposition site. Probably in the family Ichneumonidae.
About how large was it? And where was it found, specifically? As in, is that bark that it is on? And if so, what tree species? It is not uncommon for Ichneumonids and related species to bore through wood to find hosts.
She's beautiful, by the way! =)
-Jeff Howell
ReptileBoards ( Branched from The Reptile Rooms )
"If you give, you begin to live." -DMB
Leave it to Jeff to say a wasp is beautiful. Ick!! Lol
Education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world ~ Nelson Mandela
1.0.0 Oophaga Pumilio 'Black Jeans'
0.0.10 Phyllobates Vittatus
0.0.3 Phyllobates Terribilis 'Mint'
0.0.3 Dendrobates Tinctorius 'Patricia'
0.0.5 Dendrobates Leucomelas
0.0.2 Dendrobates Tinctorius 'Powder Blue'
0.0.2 Ranitomeya Variabilis 'southern'
0.0.3 Epipedobates Anthonyi 'zarayunga'
1.2.0 Phyllobates bicolor
0.0.3 Dendrobates tinctorius 'azureus'
0.0.1 Avicularia Avicularia
0.0.1 Gramastola porteri
0.2.0 Canines
1.0.0 Tabby/Maine Coon Mix
2.1.0 Genetics Experiments
0.1.0 Bed Bully
It was pretty! That's why I took a pic She actually landed on some plywood that's been breaking down and took off again as soon as I took the pic. I'm horrible at gauging size but I would say about an inch. Is it the same type of parasitic wasp they released in WI to combat emerald ash borer possibly? Thank you very much, Jeff!
2.0.3 Hyla versicolor "Eastern Gray Tree Frogs"
2.2.0 Agalychnis callidryas "Red Eyed Tree Frogs"
0.0.3 Dendrobates auratus "Turquoise and Bronze"
0.0.1 Anaxyrus fowleri "Fowler's Toad"
I think the EAB parasitoid they released was a chalcidoid wasp (the superfamily I actually do my research on =D ). They are extremely small... This one was probably searching for a beetle larva or caterpillar to use as a host to lay eggs on or inside of. They often visit decaying wood because beetle larvae and horntail larvae often feed and live within it. Especially particular dead, standing trees... If you want to see cool parasitoid wasps take a camera to an dead standing tree and just wait
-Jeff Howell
ReptileBoards ( Branched from The Reptile Rooms )
"If you give, you begin to live." -DMB
Actually, this could be an EAB parasitoid... The one I was thinking of is an egg parasitoid. There is apparently a species in the genus Atanycolus (Family: Braconidae...very closely related to ichneumonids) that looks kind of like this one. It's called Atanycolus hicoriae... check this out:
Genus Atanycolus - BugGuide.Net
I don't think the morphology is quite right, but has similar coloration at least. I'm pretty sure its a braconid or ichneumonid but there are some ~20,000 species of braconids and ~60,000+ ichneumonid species globally so narrowing it down to species will probably not be possible without more detailed photos
-Jeff Howell
ReptileBoards ( Branched from The Reptile Rooms )
"If you give, you begin to live." -DMB
Yeah, I do not have anymore photos, I will watch around the plywood piles and see if anymore show up and get some better pics. May be a job for my little bug hunter. She has more patience for bug hunting than I do! Thanks again, Jeff, all very interesting!
2.0.3 Hyla versicolor "Eastern Gray Tree Frogs"
2.2.0 Agalychnis callidryas "Red Eyed Tree Frogs"
0.0.3 Dendrobates auratus "Turquoise and Bronze"
0.0.1 Anaxyrus fowleri "Fowler's Toad"
Amazing how it resembles a black soldier fly
I think you should warn people that hanging around dead standing trees can cause nightmares. The ovipositor on this parasitoid wasp (Megarhyssa atrata I believe?) appeared long enough to go in through my ear and lay eggs in my eyeball, so roughly 5" or so, maybe longer. I do wish I had a photo to show the scale, but it was hard enough operating a camera as it was with a finger jammed in each of ear for protection. I know it won't lay eggs in my eyeball, but once I conjured up the image it would't go away. They don't like human eyeballs. I'm sure of that... I think.
If it's yellow and it flies, i kill it.
Litoria caerulea 1.1.0 (White's Tree Frog)
Lampropeltis triangulum hondurensis 0.1.0 (Anerythristic Honduran Milk Snake) Tliltocatl albopilosus 0.0.2 (Curly Hair Tarantula)
Aphonopelma hentzi 0.0.1 (Texas Brown Tarantula)
Avicularia avicularia 0.0.2 (Pinktoe Tarantula)
Brachypelma smithi ex. annitha 0.0.1 (Mexican Giant Red Knee Tarantula) Monocentropus balfouri 0.0.2 (Socotra Island Blue Baboon Tarantula)
Harpactira pulchripes 0.0.1 (Golden Blue Leg Baboon Tarantula)
Brian, what you are unaware of, is the fact that it snuck in your bedroom while you slept and deposited eggs in your medulla oblongata.
Education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world ~ Nelson Mandela
1.0.0 Oophaga Pumilio 'Black Jeans'
0.0.10 Phyllobates Vittatus
0.0.3 Phyllobates Terribilis 'Mint'
0.0.3 Dendrobates Tinctorius 'Patricia'
0.0.5 Dendrobates Leucomelas
0.0.2 Dendrobates Tinctorius 'Powder Blue'
0.0.2 Ranitomeya Variabilis 'southern'
0.0.3 Epipedobates Anthonyi 'zarayunga'
1.2.0 Phyllobates bicolor
0.0.3 Dendrobates tinctorius 'azureus'
0.0.1 Avicularia Avicularia
0.0.1 Gramastola porteri
0.2.0 Canines
1.0.0 Tabby/Maine Coon Mix
2.1.0 Genetics Experiments
0.1.0 Bed Bully
Brian, Megarhyssa is one of my favorite genera! They usually nail horntail larvae residing in the dead wood. Kind of interesting, horntails are rather gruesome looking, wasp-like ('ancestral wasp') insects in their own right!
Neil - Black soldier flies are pretty impressive wasp mimics =) Amazing how evolution has favored awesome hymenopteran mimics, because everything 'knows' that ants, bees, and wasps are bad news to mess with. From stick insect nymphs to totally harmless hover flies (Syrphids) that are near perfect bee mimics... Many, many examples of mimicry.
Eli - we can agree to disagree Without wasps we would lose millions...billions in agriculture. Caterpillars are the top herbivores in the world and guess what their #1 enemy is...wasps. Not to mention all of the other plant feeding hosts that parasitoid wasps use. It's worth noting that the parasitic species will not typically try to sting for defense (so no worries on that epic Megarhyssa ovipositor!). Heck, even the stinging, predatory wasps (i.e. Vespids) that make homes around us that most people hate are fantastic caterpillar and other insect hunters. Everything in nature has its role =D
See what happens when y'all start a post about wasps? I won't shut up
-Jeff Howell
ReptileBoards ( Branched from The Reptile Rooms )
"If you give, you begin to live." -DMB
No one is asking you to stop, Jeff! Your information is awesome. Honestly, I never took an interest in insects until my daughter fell in love with bugs. Now I find them very fascinating! I always thought wasps were totally useless, now I know better
2.0.3 Hyla versicolor "Eastern Gray Tree Frogs"
2.2.0 Agalychnis callidryas "Red Eyed Tree Frogs"
0.0.3 Dendrobates auratus "Turquoise and Bronze"
0.0.1 Anaxyrus fowleri "Fowler's Toad"
While I agree with Jeff that wasps are extremely beneficial to the environment, I still think they are a-holes. I mean anything that chases me down the street for no reason, is just mean. Of course, I think they chase me just to hear me scream like a little girl, and that makes them big, mean bullies!! Lol
Education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world ~ Nelson Mandela
1.0.0 Oophaga Pumilio 'Black Jeans'
0.0.10 Phyllobates Vittatus
0.0.3 Phyllobates Terribilis 'Mint'
0.0.3 Dendrobates Tinctorius 'Patricia'
0.0.5 Dendrobates Leucomelas
0.0.2 Dendrobates Tinctorius 'Powder Blue'
0.0.2 Ranitomeya Variabilis 'southern'
0.0.3 Epipedobates Anthonyi 'zarayunga'
1.2.0 Phyllobates bicolor
0.0.3 Dendrobates tinctorius 'azureus'
0.0.1 Avicularia Avicularia
0.0.1 Gramastola porteri
0.2.0 Canines
1.0.0 Tabby/Maine Coon Mix
2.1.0 Genetics Experiments
0.1.0 Bed Bully
I love a few specific wasps (perhaps dirt dabblers), how they paralyze spiders and put them in every other slot of their nest for their little larvae to eat. But that's it. I hate spiders much more then flying bugs. Be it jumpers, wolf spiders, cellar dwellers, garden spiders, and those little crab ones.
-BrittsBugs
Reptile & Amphibian Enthusiast
Insect Breeder
Former Rat Breeder
Pets: 6 AUS WTF's, 1 Hon Milk, 1 SM Corn, 1 BP, 5 H.Crabs, 1 C.Gecko, 4 RB Newts, 6 Betas, 5 MH Roaches, 1 L.Gecko, 1 W.Hognose, & so much more
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