Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae

Identification
• Ichneumon wasps are extremely variable but are mostly slender with long antennae. Some species have a very long egg-laying device (ovipositor) extending from the end of the abdomen.

Host range
• Ichneumons are parasitoids—the larva feeds and develops on or in a single host that it eventually kills. Some attack a wide variety of hosts, others are highly specific to one or a small group of host species.

Life cycle
• A female wasp locates an appropriate host, and she
lays an egg on or near it. After hatching, the larva feeds either from the outside of the host (external parasite) or within the body cavity (internal parasite).

Other information
• This family is one of the largest of all insect families and has more than 60,000 described species.