The common name for the Ichneumonidae was inspired by a letter that Charles Darwin wrote to Asa Gray on 22 May 1860, where he said, "I cannot persuade myself that a beneficent & omnipotent God would have designedly created the Ichneumonidæ with the express intention of their feeding within the living bodies of caterpillars."
Xorides californicus , 29 May 2020
Links
iNaturalist
Wikipedia
BugGuide
Key to the Subfamilies of North and Central American Ichneumonidae
Ichneumonidae (Darwin Wasps)
Trapped between windows of front door.
When the windows were adjusted, she flew away - into the house. So she's somewhere inside the house now.
Buathra sp.
Several of these were flitting around on the globe thistles this morning.
Associated Species:
Ichneumonidae (Darwin Wasps)
On raspberry plant
Associated Species: Rubus idaeus (Red Raspberry)
Ichneumoninae
On hollyhock leaf, near raspberry patch
Associated Species: Alcea rosea (Hollyhock)
Pimpla sp.
On Pacific Ninebark leaf
Associated Species: Physocarpus capitus (Pacific Ninebark)
Gravenhorstiini
20 Apr 2024
The first ones I've seen this spring. There were quite a few flying just above the ground in the backyard raspberry patch.
I netted one, cooled it down, took some (bad) photos, and released it.
Exochus sp. (Exochus)
Malaise trap, 5 mm
This is the first iNat observation for the genus Exochus in the state of Idaho.
Campopleginae
26 Aug 2023
Malaise Trap, 26 Aug 23
IDed by Nathaniel Green at Barr Museum on 14 June 24
Female, 6 mm
Ichneumonidae (Darwin Wasps)
Malaise trap, 26-27 Aug 23
~ 5 mm
Pimpla sanguinipes
Malaise trap, 8-10 Jun 23
~ 9 mm
Cryptinae
Length ~ 13 mm
Malaise Trap, 8-10 Jun 23
Ichneumonini
Malaise trap, 8-10 Jun 23
~ 11 mm
Campopleginae
8 Jun 2023
From Malaise trap set on June 8-10, 2023.
IDed at Barr Museum by Nathaniel Green on 14 Jun 24
Female, 13 mm
Cryptini
Malaise trap, 8-10 June 2023
IDed by Nathaniel Green at Barr Museum on 14 June 24.
Female, 15 mm
Extenterini
8 Jun 2023
Malaise Trap, 8-10 June 2023
IDed by Nathaniel Green at Barr Museum on 14 June 24
7 mm
Odontocolon mellipes
Malaise trap, 8 June 23
10 mm, female
IDed by Nathaniel Green at Barr Museum, 14 Jun 24
Tryphoninae
8 Jun 2023
Marlise Trap, 8 Jun 23
IDed by Nathaniel Green at Barr Museum on 14 Jun 24
Female, 9 mm
Campopleginae
8 Jun 2023
Malaise Trap, 8 Jun 23
IDed by Nathaniel Green at Barr Museum on 14 June 24
Female, 11 mm
Tryphoninae
8 Jun 2023
Malaise Trap, 8 Jun 23
IDed by Nathaniel Green at Barr Museum on 14 June 24
Male?, 10 mm
Ctenopelmatinae
Malaise trap, 8 Jun 23
IDed by Nathaniel Green at Barr Museum on 14 June 24
10 mm, female
Tryponini
8 Jun 2023
Malaise trap, 8 Jun 23
IDed by Nathaniel Green at Barr Museum on 14 June 24
Female, 10 mm
Ichneumonidae (Darwin Wasps)
Malaise trap, 8-10 June 23
5mm
Ichneumonidae (Darwin Wasps)
Malaise trap, ~ 7 mm
Ichneumonidae (Darwin Wasps)
Malaise trap, 8-10 Jun 23
~ 11 mm
Ichneumonidae (Darwin Wasps)
From a Malaise trap set on June 8-10, 2023.
Ichneumonidae (Darwin Wasps)
Gravenhorstiini
On the earliest days of spring, our yard is covered with these Darwin Wasps - flitting about an just above the ground, rarely stopping long enough for a photo. Here's one that did today.
Ichneumonidae (Darwin Wasps)
Ichneumonidae (Darwin Wasps)
Ichneumonidae (Darwin Wasps)
Ichneumoninae
Caught this one while it was flying around the woodpile. Took me a half hour and a dozen tries with the net.
13 mm
Ichneumon cupitus
Length 15 mm
Found next to hammock on 23 July 2022. Photographed and posted to iNat, then captured and pinned.
IDed on twitter with help from Davide Dal Pos, Nathaniel Green, and Brandon Claridge.
Ichneumonidae (Darwin Wasps)
Ichneumonidae (Darwin Wasps)
Xorides californicus
Male Xorides with a box elder bug in the background.
Gravenhorstiini
Length 18 mm
Gelis sp.
Emerged today from spider egg sac that I found on March 9. This male mated with one of the female Gelis wasps in the plastic bag that contained the sample.
Gelis sp.
Female Gelis wasp that emerged today from spider eggs sacs that I collected from my yard on March 9.
6 mm
Gelis sp.
On March 9 I collected some spider egg sacs that I found under a rock in our yard. I put them in a bag to see what would come out.
Today about a dozen Gelis wasps emerged, mostly females. This is a female on an egg sac.
Ichneumonidae (Darwin Wasps)
Perithous scurra pleuralis
Perithous scurra pleuralis
Ichneumonidae (Darwin Wasps)
Gelis sp.
~ 7 mm, female
Caught on spruce stump, cooled and photographed.
BugGuide ID
Ichneumonidae (Darwin Wasps)
Ichneumonidae (Darwin Wasps)
Ichneumonidae (Darwin Wasps)
Xorides sp.
Ovipositing on spruce stump
Ichneumonidae (Darwin Wasps)
17 mm
Perithous scurra pleuralis
Ichneumonidae (Darwin Wasps)
Xorides californicus pleuralis
Ichneumonidae (Darwin Wasps)
Ichneumonidae (Darwin Wasps)
Metopiinae
Netted from snowberry bush.
Length 8 mm
Ichneumonidae (Darwin Wasps)
Gravenhorstiini
Length ~ 20 mm
Mating pair observed in garden for a few minutes. Then they flew off onto the car. Then back to the garden where I lost track of them.
BugGuide ID Xorides sp.
On spruce stump. 25 mm. 11 deg C.
Ichneumonidae (Darwin Wasps)
Ichneumonidae (Darwin Wasps)
14 mm
Ichneumonidae (Darwin Wasps)
Campopleginae
About a dozen of these emerged from a Trichiosoma pupa collected on March 31 from a Douglas Hawthorn twig.
8 mm
I took them to the Barr Entomological Museum at the University of Idaho for identification. ...
Xorides sp.
Spruce stump, 7 deg C
body length 25 mm
Ichneumonidae (Darwin Wasps)
On spruce stump
6 deg C, ~ 22 mm
Perithous scurra pleuralis
Ichneumonidae (Darwin Wasps)
Exploring the bark of an old silver maple tree
~ 10 mm
Perithous scurra neomexicanus
Ichneumonidae (Darwin Wasps)
Ichneumonidae (Darwin Wasps)
Ichneumonidae (Darwin Wasps)
Perithous scurra neomexicanus
Body length ~ 13 mm
"This is likely Perithous scurra neomexicanus, the western subspecies. The host is an aphid wasp in the genus Pemphredon. BugGuide
That makes sense since these wasps are hanging out around several Pemphredon tunnels in an ol ...
Ichneumonidae (Darwin Wasps)
Ichneumoninae
8 Jun 2018
Malaise Trap, 7-8 June 2018
11 mm
Xorides californicus neomexicanus
Xorides sp.
Three females were on the spruce stump today at the same time, two smaller ones with a mostly red abdomen and red hind legs, and a larger one with black hind legs and black abdomen. (See third photo which includes each type.)
Xorides sp.
This is the larger of the two female species (?) that were on the spruce stump today. This one has a black abdomen and black legs; the other two individuals were smaller with mostly red abdomens and hind legs.
Xorides californicus neomexicanus
Female ovipositing in a spruce stump. The whole process took about 90 minutes.
Xorides sp.
Male hanging out near ovipositing female
Xorides sp.
male (right) and female (left) -- the same ones as in the previous two observations
Ichneumonidae (Darwin Wasps)
Xorides sp.
Large body and long ovipositor, each about 4 cm.
Banchus sp.
BugGuide , Male
First Banchus iNat observation in Idaho
Xorides sp.
Body length ~ 25 mm
Ichneumonidae (Darwin Wasps)
Itoplectis conquisitor neomexicanus
Ichneumonini
Several of these were active this morning on lawn. Netted this one and photographed it after cooling it down a bit in the fridge.
BugGuide ID
Ichneumonidae (Darwin Wasps)
Cryptus rufovinctus neomexicanus
Female
BugGuide
First and only iNat observation
Spilichneumon sp.
~ 25 mm
On front porch. 10 deg C, cloudy and windy
Ichneumonini
BugGuide ID Associated Species: Petroselinum crispum (Garden Parsley)
Buathra perplexa neomexicanus
Female
BugGuide
First Idaho iNat observation. I also recorded one at Idler's Rest.