Hi all! I found this scary-looking insect on a rock in a park near my house. The rock was otherwise covered with box elder bugs (both adults and immatures), and then there was this guy. I know next to nothing about insect identification, so hopefully the picture will be useful for you all. Is that a stinger? Ovipositor? From my brief searches, I want to put it in the hymenoptera order, but I can't seem to get any more specific. Do you have any clues?
This is a parasitic wasp in the family Pelecinidae, likely Pelecinus polyturator - see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pelecinus_polyturator
Their larvae feed on the larvae of May beetles/June bugs (Phyllophaga spp.; Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae).
Thank you suunto! That definitely looks like what I found!
He's a good wasp, neat looking things are they.
beautiful pic! Great job.
Looks like Daves Garden doesn't even have this listing available yet.
You can add it to Daves Garden with this link right here:
http://davesgarden.com/guides/bf/add.php
Common name: Pelecinid Wasp
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Pelecinidae
Genus: Pelecinus
Species: polyturator
And then upload your pic to the new page.
