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Seen in our kitchen in east Dorset on 3 September.

Thanks
Trik

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I'll need to see it first ;)

Try attaching the image again - but make sure the name has no spaces and the file isn't too large - try to keep less than 200Kb.

Cheers, ChrisR

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I tried attaching the image but loading stopped about half way through. I aborted the thread - or thought I did - so was surprised to see it appear without the image. As this is my first contact with the diptera fora, I had not realised that image titles should not have spaces, although I made sure it is within the filesize limit.

BTW, the insect was about 2.5 cm long, excluding antennae.

Thanks
Trik

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It's a kind of ichneumon wasp (so order Hymenoptera) probably from the genus Ophion (though there are other genera that look similar). Commonly called 'Sickle Wasps', they are nocturnal and are often seen at light. :)

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I thought it looked more like a wasp, but thank you for the confirmation. Your comment about them being nocturnal and flying to light is further confirmation as it was nighttime, the lights were on, and the kitchen window open.

I`ll do some research on Ophion to try and pin it down further.

Thanks again
Trik

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I'm afraid you'll be very lucky to get further than genus. I have a copy of the Ophion key and it's a nightmare - I gave up trying to use it. :(

One of the best things you can do is to get hold of a copy of "Parasitic wasps (Ichneumonoidea) in British light-traps" by Tom Huddleston & Ian Gauld. (The Entomologist - 107(2), 134-154 (1988)). It's not comprehensive but it is a fun key to try and it will sort out whether your wasp is an Ophion or one of the other genera :)

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I tried a brief search on the internet for Ophion, and there weren`t many photos for me to compare. Of those I saw, all seemed much more waisted than the one in my shot, with a more exaggerated teardrop-shaped abdomen. Nor did any have the black tip on the end.

Is the publication you recommended a book, a magazine, or an article, please?

Meanwhile, I am quite happy to call it just "Ichneumon wasp", for the moment.

BTW, are you the "Chris R" who kindly identified a Robber Fly for me in uk.rec.nat-hist? If so, greetings and thanks again for helping out!

Trik

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Hi, yes I think i am "the" Chris R. ;)

The key I mentioned is a journal extract - only available from an entomological library, but I wasn't sure if you had access to one or not.

Ophion are highly variable. They should be basically the same shape but the colour of the tip of the abdomen can vary I think. However, the angle you photograph them from does affect the appearance of the abdomen. The variability is one of the reasons I gave up with the key ... there were too many options in the key that worked both ways! :D

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Trik's Ichneumonid does not look like a Ophion.

There's a joint Finnish-Skottish-Russian-who knows what else research project on the taxonomy of European Ophion. They use both molecular and morphological characters. It is already clear that 1) older keys are worthless, 2) several morphocryptic species are involved and widespread and 3) many old species are actually species pairs or small groups. Hardly a surprise.

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As Chris had given me a start by identifying the beast as an Ichneumon wasp, I had another look through our (very basic) insect book, and there was a drawing of Netelia testacea which looks almost identical, the only obvious difference being that the drawing shows two short filaments at the end of the abdomen, although the text doesn`t identify it as a female...

If it is Netelia testacea, it will save me having to wade through the Ophion keys for an ID!

Trik

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I can't say if it is Netelia or not - genus Netelia seems to be split-off in the key on the shape of the mandibles. But the wing venation doesn't look like it is right for genus Ophion. Ophion shouldn't have an 'areolet' (a small box on th forewing, formed by 3-4 veins). Mayeb someone else can suggest something? :)

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The Mesochorinae of the genus Cidaphus looks also like that...


Pierre-Nicolas