Siricid Woodwasps

Ken Ramos · Post by **Ken Ramos** » Thu Apr 19, 2007 5:36 pm

I believe I have the identification right but if not surely some of you kind souls out there will set me straight.

Siricid Woodwasps
EOS 20D
Manual mode/hand held
1/200 sec. @ f/7.1 ISO 400
Canon EF-S 60mm f/2.8 macro
Canon 430EX Speedlite @ -1/3
(Note, both images are the same wasp...tail down, tail up. Blue channel pulled down slightly in the first image, second image normal or as is from the camera.)

Moebius · Post by **Moebius** » Thu Apr 19, 2007 6:57 pm

Can't help with the ID Ken, but the pics are very nice. $\:D/$

The other Ken

Ken Ramos · Post by **Ken Ramos** » Thu Apr 19, 2007 7:06 pm

The other Ken

Beef or Lamb

Thanks Ken

rjlittlefield · Post by **rjlittlefield** » Thu Apr 19, 2007 8:37 pm

Siricid? Um, probably not.

Your beast has a long slender petiole connecting the abdomen to the thorax. Siricidae (actually the whole suborder Symphyta) separates as "Base of abdomen broadly joined to thorax" (couplet 1A, Hymenoptera, How to Know the Insects, 3rd Edition, pg.363).

I'd go with one of the parasitoids, maybe Braconidae or Ichneumonidae.

--Rik

Ken Ramos · Post by **Ken Ramos** » Fri Apr 20, 2007 2:53 am

I searched some of your suggestions there Rik but could not find anything similar to or like the wasp I have here, maybe I just looked in the wrong places.

I am sure it will turn up though. Thanks Rik

beetleman · Post by **beetleman** » Fri Apr 20, 2007 4:00 am

Very nice photos Ken. The first one is a tad better IMO. The Post processing did bring out more detail.

Ken Ramos · Post by **Ken Ramos** » Fri Apr 20, 2007 4:18 am

Doug wrote:

The first one is a tad better IMO. The Post processing did bring out more detail.

That is the one I pulled the blue channel down on. I like the way it warms the image and like you said it does bring out some more details. Thanks Doug

Gordon C. Snelling · Post by **Gordon C. Snelling** » Fri Apr 20, 2007 5:38 am

Cute little thing, im thinking Ichneumonid on this one. I agree number one is the better image, you can almost count the antennal segments.

rjlittlefield · Post by **rjlittlefield** » Fri Apr 20, 2007 9:15 am

Ken Ramos wrote:I searched some of your suggestions there Rik but could not find anything similar to or like the wasp I have here, maybe I just looked in the wrong places. I am sure it will turn up though. Thanks Rik

Yeah, it's hard to find a picture that matches. The internet is chock full of ichneumons with really long ovipositors. They're common, distinctive, and people love to take pictures of them. Bugguide.net does have one braconid that looks like pretty much like what you have except that yours is female and theirs is male. (See http://bugguide.net/node/view/29377/bgimage.) But bear in mind that what's used as a key feature to separate braconids and ichneumons is a subtle feature of the wing venation -- how many "recurrent" veins the critter has. So while it's easy to tell that you don't have a siricid, nobody but a specialist could reliably tell what you do have.

--Rik

Ken Ramos · Post by **Ken Ramos** » Fri Apr 20, 2007 3:34 pm

Ah...that does look a bit more like what I have Rik. Yeah, its hard to ID most anything from a photograph because there are so many nuances to be considered. Thanks Rik

Bruce Williams · Post by **Bruce Williams** » Fri Apr 20, 2007 3:54 pm

Very nice post Ken. In fact better than "very nice" - excellent photos, both of them.

Hmmm...whilst I agree that pic1 does show more detail, particularly in the abdomen and antennae ...and the ovipositor is beautifully crisp too...sssssss...draws breath through teeth...adjusts specs on nose...peers closer...

Yep, I like pic2 a smidgen better. There's more interesting detail in the legs and I particularly like the "mantis-like" front legs in this pic. The wasp also shows well against the lighter background.

Bruce

Ken Ramos · Post by **Ken Ramos** » Fri Apr 20, 2007 4:23 pm

I never noticed that Bruce but you are right, the forelegs do show better in the second image than in the first. Thanks Bruce