Wildlife Spotting

Ichneumon wasp about 2cm in length, characteristic slender waist. Black head and thorax, except the round yellow marking on the scutellum. Black and yellow banded abdomen. Large black eyes and black antennae, except a yellow band at the base. Legs are mostly yellow with an irregular black band on all of the upper legs.

"A very few ichneumonid species lay their eggs in the ground, but the vast majority inject eggs either directly into their host's body or onto its surface, and this may require penetration of substrate around the host, as in wood-boring host larvae that live deep inside of tree trunks, requiring the ichneumon to drill its ovipositor through several centimeters of solid wood (e.g., Megarhyssa species). After hatching, the ichneumonid larva consumes its still living host. The most common hosts are larvae or pupae of Lepidoptera, Coleoptera and Hymenoptera."- Wikipedia