Ichneumon Wasp

Forests, meadows, and gardens, often found near decaying wood, plants, or hosts.

Adults feed on nectar and pollen; larvae are parasitic, feeding on the internal tissues of other insects (such as caterpillars, beetle larvae, and spiders).

Females use their long ovipositors to drill into wood or plant tissues to locate and lay eggs directly inside or on the bodies of host insects. They are solitary and not aggressive toward humans.

Benefits include acting as a natural biocontrol agent by parasitizing and reducing populations of agricultural and forestry pests. They generally pose no risk to humans as they do not sting defensively in the way social wasps do.