This insect has the rough appearance of a damselfly, but I don't think that is what it is. One can zoom in on the photos to see body detail. The body has chevron-like segments, clear wings, and most prominantly, a long slender hair-like tail. The tail is about 4-5 inches long! I will post two pictures. One for the body, and one that shows the length of the tail. Sorry, no scale, but the body was about an inch long. The long "tail" is what got my attention immediately. He was clearly visible on one of the hosta leaves, but by the time I got my camera, he had moved onto the flowers.
CLOSED: Damselfly-looking insect
Megarhyssa macrurus. It's in the Wasp Family. The long thing is an ovipositor.
http://bugguide.net/node/view/84171
This message was edited Oct 25, 2011 8:51 PM
kwanjin...your ID was perfect! That is the insect.
Wasp came to mind when I first saw it, but then when I noticed the long "tail" or ovipositor I dismissed it. I thought it might be a type of damselfly or dragonfly, but couldn't find anything in those groups that looked like it. Gosh, the long ovipositor was really interesting. First time I had ever seen anything like that. Thanks for the link.
Wow, 2" long would startle me as well!
Post a Reply to this Thread
More Insect and Spider Identification Threads
-
SOLVED: Damselfly-looking insect
started by klego
last post by klegoApr 17, 20255Apr 17, 2025 -
SOLVED: Damselfly-looking insect
started by ivk
last post by ivkApr 23, 20252Apr 23, 2025 -
SOLVED: Damselfly-looking insect
started by ivk
last post by ivkApr 23, 20252Apr 23, 2025 -
SOLVED: Damselfly-looking insect
started by emblue
last post by emblueApr 24, 20253Apr 24, 2025 -
SOLVED: Damselfly-looking insect
started by PitterCol
last post by PitterColApr 30, 20252Apr 30, 2025
