Netelia - One of the Ichneumon Wasps

[Geoff F]

A couple more showery days have given me time to catch up on my processing/identification/paperwork backlog.

So here is something a little different. A form of parasitic wasp which lays eggs inside moth caterpillars. One of the Netelia species, which is a form of Ichneumon Wasp; but too difficult for me to go any further along the identification road!

[Saorsa]

Nice capture, we have a number of species of these. Most of them very tiny and all lethal to caterpillars.

[Shadowman]

Nicely done, especially the capture of the translucent wings.

[deetheturk]

Lovely capture Geoff!

[NorthernFocus]

Very interesting. Some of these creatures are amazing. I was watching a show the other day about their using a small fly to combat fire ants. The flies "sting" the ants in the abdomen and lay eggs. Astonishing some of the things in nature.

[John 2]

Good capture Geoff. Interesting too.

[bnnrcn]

Very nice shot with nice colours and details , especially the wings

[Geoff F]

Thanks for the positive comments. There are a lot of Ichneumons; several thousand species in the UK alone.

Getting a suitable angle so the wing veins are clear is always tricky. Luck usually plays a bigger part than skill as far as I'm concerned!

[vaez]

Very nice image with nice colours and especially the wings Geffo