Ichneumonids are so fascinating. great shots!
November 2, 2026 at 11:50 AM
Ichneumonids are so fascinating. great shots!
More interesting moth trap bycatch in the form of two of these beautiful #Ichneumonids at Quarr Farm campsite this morning, provisionally identified as Eutanyacra picta & a new species for me.
August 16, 2026 at 9:54 AM
More interesting moth trap bycatch in the form of two of these beautiful #Ichneumonids at Quarr Farm campsite this morning, provisionally identified as Eutanyacra picta & a new species for me.
April 12, 2025 at 9:15 AM
They always (I think) turn out to be polysphinctine pimpline ichneumonids and there are good keys for them :)
March 17, 2026 at 10:04 PM
They always (I think) turn out to be polysphinctine pimpline ichneumonids and there are good keys for them :)
This is lovely! I honestly find ichneumonids to be really dainty and cute. Their faces are so charming.
May 22, 2025 at 7:25 AM
This is lovely! I honestly find ichneumonids to be really dainty and cute. Their faces are so charming.
Active from July to October this female Ichneumon sarcitorius is three months early on parade here in Great Massingham, Norfolk!
There are about 2500 British species of Ichneumonids, the majority are parasitoids of other invertebrates.
@norfolknats.bsky.social @graemelyons.bsky.social
There are about 2500 British species of Ichneumonids, the majority are parasitoids of other invertebrates.
@norfolknats.bsky.social @graemelyons.bsky.social
April 25, 2026 at 11:50 AM
Active from July to October this female Ichneumon sarcitorius is three months early on parade here in Great Massingham, Norfolk!
There are about 2500 British species of Ichneumonids, the majority are parasitoids of other invertebrates.
@norfolknats.bsky.social @graemelyons.bsky.social
There are about 2500 British species of Ichneumonids, the majority are parasitoids of other invertebrates.
@norfolknats.bsky.social @graemelyons.bsky.social
Might be a helpful resource for you here: www.ichsofna.org
Ichneumonids of North AmericaInformation Website for the Ichneumonidae of North America | Ichsofna.org
Discover the fascinating world of North American ichneumonid wasps. Explore species galleries, taxonomic information, and advanced insect identification tools for researchers and enthusiasts.
www.ichsofna.org
February 3, 2026 at 4:22 AM
Might be a helpful resource for you here: www.ichsofna.org
Who's the lucky person who has the bigger wasps? (I ask sniffing the air for ichneumonids like a dog after treats?)
May 12, 2026 at 4:26 AM
Who's the lucky person who has the bigger wasps? (I ask sniffing the air for ichneumonids like a dog after treats?)
That said, there are real differences between ichneumonids and braconids which are obvious to anyone used to them. Just makes it hard for beginners.
Ichneumonidae - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
April 21, 2026 at 7:53 AM
That said, there are real differences between ichneumonids and braconids which are obvious to anyone used to them. Just makes it hard for beginners.
As everyone of course knows, ichneumonids and braconids are entirely different families, with the difference clearly visible from e.g. these photos.
(Yes, I'm being a bit sarcastic, two groups who are more distantly related than humans and whales have no right looking so similar.)
(Yes, I'm being a bit sarcastic, two groups who are more distantly related than humans and whales have no right looking so similar.)
April 21, 2026 at 7:53 AM
As everyone of course knows, ichneumonids and braconids are entirely different families, with the difference clearly visible from e.g. these photos.
(Yes, I'm being a bit sarcastic, two groups who are more distantly related than humans and whales have no right looking so similar.)
(Yes, I'm being a bit sarcastic, two groups who are more distantly related than humans and whales have no right looking so similar.)
Just been struck once again by a really noticeable difference between the wasps from Ugandan forest traps and non-forest traps.
Farmland: braconids instead of ichneumonids
Forest: ichneumonids instead of braconids
Farmland: braconids instead of ichneumonids
Forest: ichneumonids instead of braconids
April 21, 2026 at 7:53 AM
Just been struck once again by a really noticeable difference between the wasps from Ugandan forest traps and non-forest traps.
Farmland: braconids instead of ichneumonids
Forest: ichneumonids instead of braconids
Farmland: braconids instead of ichneumonids
Forest: ichneumonids instead of braconids
I still haven't found Seyrig's bestseller, Ichneumonids of Madagascar part IV.
Must be a bestseller, absolutely everyone cites it. No one seems to have a copy though. 🤔
Must be a bestseller, absolutely everyone cites it. No one seems to have a copy though. 🤔
Completely true. Back when I was a PhD student, I recall seeing a paper which tried to estimate how often researchers had actually read the articles they cited.
It was and is not at all unusual to find a cited work actually disagreed with the argument the citation was supposed to buttress.
It was and is not at all unusual to find a cited work actually disagreed with the argument the citation was supposed to buttress.
By reading those sources myself. There is no shortcut to that. Scholars should verify all sources when they sign their work with their name regardless of whether they use AI or not.
Sadly, superficial citing practices based on mere abstract have been common before any AI tools come around.
Sadly, superficial citing practices based on mere abstract have been common before any AI tools come around.
March 3, 2026 at 3:07 PM
I still haven't found Seyrig's bestseller, Ichneumonids of Madagascar part IV.
Must be a bestseller, absolutely everyone cites it. No one seems to have a copy though. 🤔
Must be a bestseller, absolutely everyone cites it. No one seems to have a copy though. 🤔
Do you know who insisted on my writing this into my article?
"We minimized the harm to individual insects by killing them quickly in 80% ethanol."
I did. Never even occurred to anyone else to ask how I'd treated the living creatures I killed. That needs to change.
"We minimized the harm to individual insects by killing them quickly in 80% ethanol."
I did. Never even occurred to anyone else to ask how I'd treated the living creatures I killed. That needs to change.
Extensive sampling reveals the phenology and habitat use of Afrotropical parasitoid wasps (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae: Rhyssinae) | Royal Society Open Science
Tropical invertebrates, such as the ichneumonids of tropical forests, are poorly known.
Here, we report the first results of extensive sampling at Kibale National Park, Uganda,
by providing some of th...
royalsocietypublishing.org
October 6, 2025 at 7:03 AM
Do you know who insisted on my writing this into my article?
"We minimized the harm to individual insects by killing them quickly in 80% ethanol."
I did. Never even occurred to anyone else to ask how I'd treated the living creatures I killed. That needs to change.
"We minimized the harm to individual insects by killing them quickly in 80% ethanol."
I did. Never even occurred to anyone else to ask how I'd treated the living creatures I killed. That needs to change.
Ichneumonids and chaetotaxy are something you really don't see together normally. But if counting hairs is what it takes..
September 6, 2025 at 9:18 AM
Ichneumonids and chaetotaxy are something you really don't see together normally. But if counting hairs is what it takes..
Anyone who wants to find out is welcome to several decilitres of them 😎 I draw the line at Diapriidae, going to be 2100 before I get even the ichneumonids pinned.
January 8, 2025 at 6:32 PM
Anyone who wants to find out is welcome to several decilitres of them 😎 I draw the line at Diapriidae, going to be 2100 before I get even the ichneumonids pinned.
I've marked this sample as only having tracker wasps (ichneumonids). I dunno, those look like braconids and even a few other wasps too?! Cue for 30 minutes digging through the database.🧪
And it's only a handful of wasps too, since it came from the Ugandan river trap which most wasps couldn't reach.
And it's only a handful of wasps too, since it came from the Ugandan river trap which most wasps couldn't reach.
January 7, 2025 at 10:25 AM
I've marked this sample as only having tracker wasps (ichneumonids). I dunno, those look like braconids and even a few other wasps too?! Cue for 30 minutes digging through the database.🧪
And it's only a handful of wasps too, since it came from the Ugandan river trap which most wasps couldn't reach.
And it's only a handful of wasps too, since it came from the Ugandan river trap which most wasps couldn't reach.
Mygga på matpaus och en parasitstekel i dess vanligaste livsskede, som larv. (som här äter av en levande spindel)
Easy to forget, but while we mainly see tracker wasps* as adults, they spend most of their time as larvae. Here eating a live spider.
* aka Ichneumonids, Darwin wasps, Ichneumonidae...
Easy to forget, but while we mainly see tracker wasps* as adults, they spend most of their time as larvae. Here eating a live spider.
* aka Ichneumonids, Darwin wasps, Ichneumonidae...
Some images from August. Pause during a coastal forest restoration project. My first Aedes (Ochlerotatus) diantaeus and the lovely Araneus nordmanni (with Ichneumonid larva). Perhaps not uncommon, but not the easiest to find.
More here (in Swedish) utgangspunktnykarleby.blogspot.com/2024/10/mick...
More here (in Swedish) utgangspunktnykarleby.blogspot.com/2024/10/mick...
November 21, 2024 at 6:19 PM
Mygga på matpaus och en parasitstekel i dess vanligaste livsskede, som larv. (som här äter av en levande spindel)
Easy to forget, but while we mainly see tracker wasps* as adults, they spend most of their time as larvae. Here eating a live spider.
* aka Ichneumonids, Darwin wasps, Ichneumonidae...
Easy to forget, but while we mainly see tracker wasps* as adults, they spend most of their time as larvae. Here eating a live spider.
* aka Ichneumonids, Darwin wasps, Ichneumonidae...
Like my Rhyssinae: long ovipositor and found near dead wood. So almost certainly drill into dead wood like their more northern relatives.
And likely into beetle larvae, because, well.. (handwaving mumbling about that's the most common in decaying tropical wood).
And likely into beetle larvae, because, well.. (handwaving mumbling about that's the most common in decaying tropical wood).
Extensive sampling reveals the phenology and habitat use of Afrotropical parasitoid wasps (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae: Rhyssinae) | Royal Society Open Science
Tropical invertebrates, such as the ichneumonids of tropical forests, are poorly known.
Here, we report the first results of extensive sampling at Kibale National Park, Uganda,
by providing some of th...
royalsocietypublishing.org
September 4, 2024 at 5:25 PM
Like my Rhyssinae: long ovipositor and found near dead wood. So almost certainly drill into dead wood like their more northern relatives.
And likely into beetle larvae, because, well.. (handwaving mumbling about that's the most common in decaying tropical wood).
And likely into beetle larvae, because, well.. (handwaving mumbling about that's the most common in decaying tropical wood).
So what are we interested in? First, where in the forest do the different species fly? And when?
Results for one, small (~450 individuals) subfamily. Primary forest and dry season / weather are when they're caught. Dead wood is good.
Results for one, small (~450 individuals) subfamily. Primary forest and dry season / weather are when they're caught. Dead wood is good.
Extensive sampling reveals the phenology and habitat use of Afrotropical parasitoid wasps (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae: Rhyssinae) | Royal Society Open Science
Tropical invertebrates, such as the ichneumonids of tropical forests, are poorly known.
Here, we report the first results of extensive sampling at Kibale National Park, Uganda,
by providing some of th...
royalsocietypublishing.org
September 4, 2024 at 8:30 AM
So what are we interested in? First, where in the forest do the different species fly? And when?
Results for one, small (~450 individuals) subfamily. Primary forest and dry season / weather are when they're caught. Dead wood is good.
Results for one, small (~450 individuals) subfamily. Primary forest and dry season / weather are when they're caught. Dead wood is good.
You know, I'm seriously considering writing some kind of general guidebook like this, to Ugandan Darwin wasps (Ichneumonids).
Or even the wasps in general. Subfamilies + some select species and genera. ATM, if you want to learn to recognise these, it's the deep end right from the start.
Or even the wasps in general. Subfamilies + some select species and genera. ATM, if you want to learn to recognise these, it's the deep end right from the start.
Thread ends. The species IDs are from Molleman's guidebook, BTW. Any mistakes are mine: I see butterflies as mere wasp food.
Some day I hope to write a similar book about the wasps of Kibale National Park.
Some day I hope to write a similar book about the wasps of Kibale National Park.
(PDF) Butterflies of Uganda: Kibale Forest
PDF | Books contain sixty-five full color pages with about 200 butterfly species, images of caterpillars, host-plant information particular to Kibale... | Find, read and cite all the research you need...
www.researchgate.net
February 28, 2024 at 3:44 PM
You know, I'm seriously considering writing some kind of general guidebook like this, to Ugandan Darwin wasps (Ichneumonids).
Or even the wasps in general. Subfamilies + some select species and genera. ATM, if you want to learn to recognise these, it's the deep end right from the start.
Or even the wasps in general. Subfamilies + some select species and genera. ATM, if you want to learn to recognise these, it's the deep end right from the start.
Ichneumonids.. that's not English, it's Latin with the last letters cut off. Like much of English, admitted, but let's not make it worse.
February 8, 2024 at 10:27 AM
Ichneumonids.. that's not English, it's Latin with the last letters cut off. Like much of English, admitted, but let's not make it worse.
Thanks everyone! Think I'll mention both Darwin wasps and ichneumonids once, then go with wasps. And OFC take care to make clear how amazing creatures they are 🙂
January 21, 2024 at 3:00 PM
Thanks everyone! Think I'll mention both Darwin wasps and ichneumonids once, then go with wasps. And OFC take care to make clear how amazing creatures they are 🙂
I'm tempted to go "Darwin wasps (or ichneumonids)", then continue with "wasps" once everyone knows they're the bestest creatures in the world. Just have to resist adding ichneumon flies, tracker wasps... and God knows how many other synonyms.
January 21, 2024 at 1:39 PM
I'm tempted to go "Darwin wasps (or ichneumonids)", then continue with "wasps" once everyone knows they're the bestest creatures in the world. Just have to resist adding ichneumon flies, tracker wasps... and God knows how many other synonyms.
Good point. Looks like both Darwin wasps and ichneumonids lead to Wikipedia, so both should work in this way.
I'm old enough to remember the far off days of a few years ago, when "Darwin wasps" was just a term some of my colleagues suddenly got enthusiastic about. No search engine found it.
I'm old enough to remember the far off days of a few years ago, when "Darwin wasps" was just a term some of my colleagues suddenly got enthusiastic about. No search engine found it.
January 21, 2024 at 1:27 PM
Good point. Looks like both Darwin wasps and ichneumonids lead to Wikipedia, so both should work in this way.
I'm old enough to remember the far off days of a few years ago, when "Darwin wasps" was just a term some of my colleagues suddenly got enthusiastic about. No search engine found it.
I'm old enough to remember the far off days of a few years ago, when "Darwin wasps" was just a term some of my colleagues suddenly got enthusiastic about. No search engine found it.
I'm writing a short article. A real one, for a magazine, not some scientific report which no one reads.
So what should I call the creatures I study? Ichneumonid wasps? Darwin wasps? Ichneumonids?
Someone help me pick something that won't be meaningless to 99% of readers!
So what should I call the creatures I study? Ichneumonid wasps? Darwin wasps? Ichneumonids?
Someone help me pick something that won't be meaningless to 99% of readers!
January 21, 2024 at 11:57 AM
I'm writing a short article. A real one, for a magazine, not some scientific report which no one reads.
So what should I call the creatures I study? Ichneumonid wasps? Darwin wasps? Ichneumonids?
Someone help me pick something that won't be meaningless to 99% of readers!
So what should I call the creatures I study? Ichneumonid wasps? Darwin wasps? Ichneumonids?
Someone help me pick something that won't be meaningless to 99% of readers!