Outdoor Ontario

Wildlife Reports => Toronto Wildlife => Topic started by: gary yankech on May 28, 2011, 10:42:15 PM

Title: unknown wasp
Post by: gary yankech on May 28, 2011, 10:42:15 PM

This morning I was out again looking for the Eastern Bluebirds and Green Heron in the Rouge I spotted a few weeks ago but it was quite wet and cold. Lately all I have been able to find is insects....spotted this guy who didn't mind having a photo taken.

(http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2340/5768564368_cd86341e66_b.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/49663413@N08/5768564368/)
Unknown wasp (http://www.flickr.com/photos/49663413@N08/5768564368/) by Gary Yankech (http://www.flickr.com/people/49663413@N08/), on Flickr

(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3010/5768022243_511e914dcd_b.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/49663413@N08/5768022243/)
Unknown wasp (http://www.flickr.com/photos/49663413@N08/5768022243/) by Gary Yankech (http://www.flickr.com/people/49663413@N08/), on Flickr


Hopefully I'll see the Bluebirds again in the meadow.

Gary Yankech

Title:
Post by: JW Mills on May 29, 2011, 12:05:17 PM

Possibly a Golden Paper Wasp?

Title:
Post by: Ground State on June 10, 2011, 09:16:04 PM

Though a bit dated, I thought I'd bump this one back up to the top of the thread!
Good suggestion, but Golden paper wasps are much more 'hornet looking'.

This one is a Short tail Ichneumon Wasp, an important biological control species. You've probably seen other Ichneumon wasp species over the years - they're the ones with the long, thin, 'stinger'-looking protrusion used for parasitizing live caterpillars with eggs. Don't search for photos of Ichneumons though because their colour and pattern range can be quite diverse. Even specifically searching for Short tail Ichneumon Wasp will lead to 11 different species of them alone! I've got years and years of entomology under my belt and I still wouldn't have a chance of narrowing it down to one of those 11.

Title:
Post by: gary yankech on June 11, 2011, 08:56:37 AM

Quote from: "Ground State"

Though a bit dated, I thought I'd bump this one back up to the top of the thread!
Good suggestion, but Golden paper wasps are much more 'hornet looking'.

This one is a Short tail Ichneumon Wasp, an important biological control species. You've probably seen other Ichneumon wasp species over the years - they're the ones with the long, thin, 'stinger'-looking protrusion used for parasitizing live caterpillars with eggs. Don't search for photos of Ichneumons though because their colour and pattern range can be quite diverse. Even specifically searching for Short tail Ichneumon Wasp will lead to 11 different species of them alone! I've got years and years of entomology under my belt and I still wouldn't have a chance of narrowing it down to one of those 11.

Thanks for your comment, I actually did some research and I narrowed it down to an Ichneumon wasp, I should actually update my photo caption......I sent the pic to www.bugguide.net (http://www.bugguide.net) and they will hopefully ID this species. The pics generated some discussion on their forum. An expert will get back to me soon with an answer. Thanks again for your comment.

You can read the discussion at these link:

http://bugguide.net/node/view/521656 (http://bugguide.net/node/view/521656)

http://bugguide.net/node/view/521829 (http://bugguide.net/node/view/521829)

Cheers,

Gary Yankech