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Sabre Wasp

uncommon

Sabre Wasp

Rhyssa persuasoria

Habitat
Coniferous and mixed woodlands, especially around dead or dying timber
Body length
40 mm
Order
Hymenoptera · Ichneumonidae

Weird but real

Females drill a hair-thin ovipositor deep into wood to place eggs on horntail larvae hidden in tunnels.

Why it's cool

The long black tail looks impossible, but it is a living drill bit for finding prey sealed inside timber.

Photographs

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
Frank Vassen from Brussels, Belgium · CC BY 2.0 · source
Holzwespen-Schlupfwespe (Rhyssa persuasoria)
Bernd Trommer · CC BY 4.0 · source