Ichneumon Wasp

[RobArb]

  Tony Croft aka hamadryad said:

lol, would seem you really are a "special case" Robin!

 

Sometimes, I do think that myself:001_rolleyes:

 

Sent from my Galaxy S2

[openspaceman]

  RobArb said:

close) it turns out that Ichneumon's can sting if they feel threatened and do it out of self defence.

 

That's the same as other wasps and bees then.

 

It makes sense as the sting of a wasp is a modified ovipositor.

 

We had a lad driving the skidder and stacking douglas fir, he had one settle on his resin soaked thigh and start drilling through his jeans whilst driving, he brushed it off but he didn't say he was stung.

 

They're fascinating to watch as the arch their middles to make room for the ovipositor and then drill 20mm to lay their eggs.

[HCR]

Well, you live and learn. I did a bit of research and it turns out that Enicospilus ramidulus belongs to the sub-family Ophioninae; the only ichneumons to possess a sting.

[openspaceman]

  HCR said:

Well, you live and learn. I did a bit of research and it turns out that Enicospilus ramidulus belongs to the sub-family Ophioninae; the only ichneumons to possess a sting.

 

I've had a quick google and now see that ichneuman's parasitise the grubs that the wood wasp lays, I was referring to a woodwasp, sawfly or horntail (harmless), trying to lay an egg in the driver's thigh.

[HCR]

  catweazel said:

I've had a quick google and now see that ichneuman's parasitise the grubs that the wood wasp lays, I was referring to a woodwasp, sawfly or horntail (harmless), trying to lay an egg in the driver's thigh.

 

Yeah, sorry for the confusion. I was referring to the earlier subplot about ichneumons stinging.

 

I too once had a horntail get very interested in me after I'd been sweating over some spruce all morning.

[David Humphries]

As part of a monolith survey at work (which is an urban open space) in 2010 we had an entomologist look at a range of dead wood habitats and the likes of this Dolichomitus imperator were found.

 

 

.

[HCR]

  David Humphries said:

As part of a monolith survey at work (which is an urban open space) in 2010 we had an entomologist look at a range of dead wood habitats and the likes of this Dolichomitus imperator were found.

 

 

.

 

Superb!