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ICHNEUMON FLY
Ichneumon fly are related to wasps and are sometimes known as Ichneumon wasps, whose larvae are parasitic on many other insects. Ichneumon flies are harmless to humans and trees, and in fact help to keep many insect pests under control.
Ichneumon flies are classified:
phylum: Arthropoda
class: Insecta
order: Hymenoptera
family: Ichneumonidae.
Over 3,000 species of ichneumon flies are found throughout the United States but not in the Southwest.
The female fly has a long ovipositor capable of penetrating through several inches of a insect-infested tree trunk to the caterpillars and other larvae within the trunk. The ovipositor of the female is used to lay eggs deep within fallen timber. When the eggs hatch, the larvae feed on the body of the host.
Sabre Wasp is a type of insect called an Ichneumon Fly.
These flies have a wasp waist, and long, flexible antennae.
The stinger at the end of the female flies abdomen is actually an ovipositor, rather than a stinger.
The adults feed on nectar from flowers and aphid honeydew and help in this way to crosspollinate.
The ovipositor is like a hypodermic needle and is protected inside a long black sheath. It can penetrate wood with ease despite its delicate appearance.
The female feels the timber with the antennae on the front of her head searching for the larvae of wood wasp. When she has found the wasp larva she lays her eggs near the larva for food.
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