Ichneumon Wasp

[PeterD-2009]

This beestie is the stuff of nightmares. It looks for its prey then injects eggs within it. The lavae feed on the host:eek1 .
http://www.imageinuk.com/photos/542872080_7PgGd-XL-1.jpg
http://www.imageinuk.com/Other-Insects/Bees-and-Wasps/Wasps-awaiting-sort/9402200_mnqxT/1/#542872080_7PgGd-A-LB

http://www.imageinuk.com/photos/542872722_qx64G-XL-1.jpg
http://www.imageinuk.com/Other-Insects/Bees-and-Wasps/Wasps-awaiting-sort/9402200_mnqxT/1/#542872722_qx64G-A-LB

Comments and critique welcome.

[GOLDENORFE]

good find, like 1st frame best.
phil

[Lord Vetinari]

Lovely Ichneumon wasp captures- esp like #1
Brian V.

[commonjunks]

:thumb for picture, but how they inject lavea make me :huh.

[pyanez]

Nice shot, especially the top one. Is the long "tail" what they use to deposit their eggs in their victims?

I wonder if these are closely related to the fig waps? Just saw an amazing (Nature?) show on these in HD - stunning.

[PeterD-2009]

Thank you all for viewing and your comments.

When Darwin first saw these he wrote "I own that I cannot see as plainly as others do, and as I should wish to do, evidence of design and beneficence on all sides of us. There seems to me too much misery in the world. I cannot persuade myself that a beneficent and omnipotent God would have designedly created the Ichneumonidae with the express intention of their feeding within the living bodies of Caterpillars, or that a cat should play with mice."

The Ichneumon Wasp in my image is a female which is recognisable with its long ovipositor. The ovipositor is capable of boring into wood to reach its victim.

Thanks for mentioning the Fig wasp. Never heard of it before but. as you say, a very interesting subject - see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fig_wasp.
They are not directly related to the Ichneumon Wasp as the larvae of these live within the body of insects. Having read the Fig wasp description, they seem to be more closely related to the gall wasps.

Here are a couple of images showing the development of the 'Robins Pincushion'. The wasp Diplolepis rosae lays its eggs in the leaf buds of the Dog rose. A chemical reaction induces the growth of this gall on the plant.
http://www.imageinuk.com/photos/594751327_J8G4o-XL.jpg
http://www.imageinuk.com/Recent-Photos/New-Plants-and-Flowers-uploads/8920284_Q2J3L/1/#594751327_J8G4o-A-LB
The above image shows two galls beginning to form.

http://www.imageinuk.com/photos/592206378_KzAT2-XL-1.jpg
http://www.imageinuk.com/Recent-Photos/New-Plants-and-Flowers-uploads/8920284_Q2J3L/1/#592206378_KzAT2-A-LB
A fully formed Gall.

The wasp larvae live inside the gall which protects them from predators and also acts like air conditioning to keep the larvae from being exposed to extremes of temperature.