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Pelecinidae wasp, female

Family Pelecinidae, Pelecinus sp.

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-25.4284, -49.2733

Field Notes

Notes:

One North American genus with only one species: Pelecinus polyturator. Worldwide, there is only one extant genus, Pelecinus, with three recognized species (Johnson and Musetti, 1999):
Pelecinus polyturator (North America, Central America, South America)
Pelecinus thoracicus (western Mexico)
Pelecinus dichrous (South America)
(BugGuide)

Species ID Suggestions

Comments (6)
Sergio Monteiro
This is a special thanks, Juan. I was really curious about this one.
Sergio Monteiro
Hi Chun. I couldn't find any information about this insect, even BugGuide has nothing about it (or maybe I didn't know where to look at). I am very interest to know more about it, and yes, that abdomen is amazing. If you look carefully, there IS a sting in its end, and it seems to be very strong and sharp. A real weapon!
ChunXingWong
To long to be true, but in science where facts are sometimes stranger than fictions. Unusual abdomen for the wasp, it is good to know why this species evolved such thick stinger (or ovipositor).
Photographed
PublishedJanuary 14, 2012

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