Ichneumon wasp - unnamed 5

This ichneumon wasp is a member of the Cryptinae subfamily (consisting of perhaps 20 members).

Species introduction

At a glance
Latin name: 
Ischnus inquisitorius
Family: 
Ichneumon wasps
Family Latin name: 
ICHNEUMONIDAE
Category: 
Insects other

Species description

Species description

This ichneumon wasp is a member of the Cryptinae subfamily (consisting of perhaps 20 members). It is small and furtive in its behaviour but, as with most ichneumon wasps, its rapid movements are accompanied by the waving of its antennae, no doubt sniffing out prey.

It is known that this species preys on Tortrix moths, with females laying eggs in the living pupae of these moths. As with many of the ichneumon wasps seen in the cemetery, their favourite hunting ground is in a patch of Rosebay Willowherbs.

Species photographs

Larger photograph(s) (click to magnify)
This ichneumon wasp is a member of the Cryptinae subfamily (consisting of perhaps 20 members).
It is known that this species preys on Tortrix moths, with females laying eggs in the living pupae of these moths.
As with many of the ichneumon wasps seen in the cemetery, their favourite hunting ground is in a patch of Rosebay Willowherbs.

Details

Species family information

Ichneumon wasps are a family of 'parasitoids' that usually attack the caterpillars of butterflies and moths (and other insects and spiders). Unlike social wasps, these parasites are solitary. Although they share the characteristic 'wasp waist' with their social wasp cousins, the ichneumons are generally long and thin, having notably long antennae (usually with 16 segments, compared to the 13 or less of other wasps). If you are lucky enough to see these flighty insects, you may notice their antennae moving rapidly from side to side, indicating that they are probably hunting for prey using a 'stereo-smell' function that enables them to locate prey using olfactory information detected by receptor neurons in their antennae.

Category information

Insects evolved in the Ordovician from a crustacean ancestral lineage as terrestrial invertebrates with six legs (the Hexapoda). This was the time when terrestrial plants first appeared. In the Devonian some insects developed wings and flight, the first animals to do so. An early flying group was the Odonata from the Carboniferous, the damselflies and dragonflies, which have densely-veined wings and long, ten-segmented bodies. They are day-flying carnivores, with an aquatic larval stage, so are commonly seen flying near water. The carnivorous larvae are called nymphs. Odonata species are short-lived, damselflies surviving for 2-4 weeks, dragonflies for up to 2 months.

Some insect groups in the Cretaceous co-evolved with the flowering plants, and they have had a close association ever since. These groups are the Hymenoptera (bees, wasps, and ants), the Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths), the Diptera (flies), and the Coleoptera (beetles). The diversity of beetles is astonishing. Of all the known animal species on the planet, one in five is a beetle!