Insects and Spiders

More Detail On The Ovipositor

I did not flip this shot so you can see the actual position of a female on the tree trunk. That long ovipositor is not a single hollow tube. It actually has 3 filaments. The middle one is very thin and is a hollow tube thru which the egg travels. The other two filaments go out to the sides and protect the tube. They have a cutting edge at the tip. They join back together around the tube to be the cutting tool. Kind of like a diamond drill bit. A membrane comes into play when the actual egg laying takes place. In this shot you can see the 2 protecting filaments seperating out then coming back together going into the wood. I can't see the actual tube, apparently too thin for me to have picked up that detail. No membrane here so egg laying not happening yet. Only one egg is laid in each host. I'll share a shot of that membrane later. The whole process can take up to 45 minutes.
Female Long-tailed Giant Ichneumon Wasps (Megarhyssa macrurus ssp. macrurus)
Spring Creek Nature Area, Richardson

bugclose upeye levelSpring creek nature arearichardson texasnonaggressivemacronew species for mewaspnew waspfemale waspovipositorlaying eggsFemale Long tailed Giant Ichneumon WaspLongtailed Giant Ichneumon WaspGiant Ichneumon WaspIchneumon Waspparasitoidparasitoid waspharmless to humansMegarhyssa macrurus ssp. macrurus