 | Giant Ichneumon Wasp - Megarhyssa greenei Order Hymenoptera - Ants, Bees, Wasps and Sawflies / Family Ichneumonidae Live adult male and female wasps photographed in the wild at Winfield, Illinois Insects & Spiders | Bees & Wasps Index | Bees & Wasps Main | Stinging Hymenoptera |
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| Male Megarhyssa wasps gather at trees or fallen logs where female wasps are emerging in springtime. They seek to inseminate the females by either of two methods - waiting for them to emerge, or actually inserting their abdomens into the hole from which the female will shortly emerge. (Talk about robbing the cradle!) |
 Male Megharyssa wasp searchs with his antennae for emerging virgin females with which to mate.
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 Female Megarhyssa laying eggs, her ovipositor drilled into a fallen log. |
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Hymenoptera (Latin for membrane wing) is a vast assemblage of insects second only to Coleoptera (beetles) in the number of described species. Hymenoptera number some 115,000 species vs. 350,000 in Coleoptera. 18,000 of these species call North America north of Mexico home. Hymenopterans inhabit a wide variety of habitats, and show an incredible diversity in size, behavior, structure and color. Insects & Spiders | Bees & Wasps Index | Bees & Wasps Main | Beetles Index |
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