Wasps from summer & fall 2008
This parasitoid is a female Braconid wasp, Agathis malvacearum, searching for the larva of the Gelechiid moth, Metzneria lapella, which feeds in the seedheads of Common Burdock. Note her long ovipositor.
This A. malvacearum female has located the larva within the seedhead and now positions her ovipositor vertically and deposits her egg. When the egg hatches, the wasp larva completes its development by feeding on the still living Gelechiid larva, but by the time it is ready to pupate, the larva is dead.
Sphecid wasp, Ammophila sp. gathering pollen & nectar. They dig underground nests and provision them with insects such as Notodontid moth larvae, which they have paralyzed and on which they lay their eggs. The wasp larvae feed on the living moth larvae until they are ready to pupate and finish their development, and by which time the moth larva is dead.
This is the first time I have observed this Ichneumonid wasp, Trogus pennator, which is parasitoid of swallowtail butterflies. I found it rapidly searching within the dill and fennel of my herb garden in September, most likely for the Black Swallowtail larvae that may be feeding there. The orange and black coloring were spectacular, almost iridescent in the sunlight.
This large Sphecid wasp, was often seen flying rapidly about my garden and frequently feeding on the pollen and nectar of Gooseneck Loosestrife and Butterflyweed. In late fall, there were many flying about the Butterflyweed outside the Science Museum in St. Paul. These wasps are commonly parasitoids of large insects such as grasshoppers and also spiders, with which they provision their nests and lay their eggs.
Another large Sphecid wasp, Sphex pensylvanicus, commonly seen exclusively gathering pollen and nectar on my Gooseneck Loosestrife. They are also spider and grasshopper parasitoids, with which they provision their nests and lay a single egg. Interestingly, when the large black wasp with the white patch on the thorax (shown above) entered the garden, the Sphex wasps quickly left. When the black and white wasps left, the Sphex returned.
Margot Monson
St. Paul, MN