Unidentified Wasp

I got a message from my colleague about this. Best we can offer at this point is Leucospis - it fits closer there than anywhere else. However it is not a very typical species.

Small Wonders - I tried to identify this with the last key to Leucospid genera (Boucek 1974). There are only two genera known from the New World (Leucospis, Polistomorpha), and this doesn't appear to me to be either. Certainly not Polistomorpha which doesn't have the curved ovipositor. There are also a couple of African genera, but these don't seem to fit either. I have passed a link to the picture on to a friend who has more experience with this group than I do, and he can hopefully shed some light on it.

Yes, it is certainly different from the "normal" Leucospis - which is the most common genus. John Noyes has produced an on-line catalogue to all chalcids. http://www.nhm.ac.uk/research-curation/research/projects/chalcidoids/ There are 4 described genera in this family. I can try to check a key later in the day.

Wow John La Salle! With your info I'm looking to an entire new spotting now.

Chalcidoidea: Leucospidae. Very nice picture of an unusual wasp. Members of this family can generally be recognized by a lack of any closed cells in the front wing, an enlarged and toothed hind femur, and the ovipositor wrapping up over the abdomen. You can see the tip of the ovipositor extending past the front of the abdoment between the wings.

Excellent shot Small Wonders!