Xorides wasps are parasitoids of wood-boring beetles. I saw the first one in the yard on May 1, 2018. It was on an old spruce stump, which we left when we had to remove a tree that was in danger of falling about five years before.
The female has a long ovipositor, which is about as long as her body. She searches for beetle larvae by flicking her antennae using echolocation. When she finds a host, she inserts her ovipositor through the hard wood and deposits an egg. The process takes about a half hour or so.
Xorides wasps have continued to visit and oviposit on the stump each spring since then. But they are much less frequent now. I suspect that the stump has aged enough to no longer be a good habitat for their beetle larva hosts.
But they have provided lots of entertainment since then. I have 29 iNaturalist observations from the stump - which is makes LQA the leader for Xorides worldwide.
Xorides californicus
Male Xorides with a box elder bug in the background.
Xorides sp.
Ovipositing on spruce stump
Xorides californicus
Ovipositing in a spruce stump
Xorides sp.
On spruce stump. 25 mm. 11 deg C.
Xorides sp.
Spruce stump, 7 deg C
body length 25 mm
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 sp.
Female ovipositing in a spruce stump. The whole process took about 90 minutes.
Xorides sp.
male (right) and female (left) -- the same ones as in the previous two observations
Xorides sp.
Male hanging out near ovipositing female
Xorides sp.
Large body and long ovipositor, each about 4 cm.
Xorides sp.
Body length ~ 25 mm
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Xorides wasps are parasitoids of wood-boring beetles. I saw the first one in the yard on May 1, 2018. It was on an old spruce stump, which we left when we had to remove a tree that was in danger of falling about five years before.
The female has a long ovipositor, which is about as long as her body. She searches for beetle larvae by flicking her antennae using echolocation. When she finds a host, she inserts her ovipositor through the hard wood and deposits an egg. The process takes about a half hour or so.
Xorides wasps have continued to visit and oviposit on the stump each spring since then. But they are much less frequent now. I suspect that the stump has aged enough to no longer be a good habitat for their beetle larva hosts.
But they have provided lots of entertainment since then. I have 29 iNaturalist observations from the stump - which is makes LQA the leader for Xorides worldwide.
)
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[inat_url] => https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/13205968
[inat_image_url] => https://inaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com/photos/19308710/medium.jpeg
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Xorides californicus
Taxonomy
Subclass:
Pterygota (Winged and Once-winged Insects)
Suborder:
Apocrita (Narrow-waisted Wasps, Ants, and Bees)
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