Posted by Calilasseia on 23-09-2013 08:40
#1
I know I'm asking a
lot here, given that [1] there are something like 6,000 Ichneumon species in the UK fauna, and [2] many of them require genital dissection for definitive identification, and as a corollary, any help with this insect will be
greatly appreciated in advance. However, since this specimen posed for an
in situ shot, which I find
very rarely happens with Ichneumons, and the essential anatomical details should be largely in focus, I'm hoping that it's distinctive enough to allow those with the requisite expert knowledge to give the photo the once over. :)
Specimen data:
Location: UK, Ordnance Survey Grid Reference SJ499855.
Date: 2013-09-22, 14:39 BST.
Weather: intermittent bright sunshine, mildly breezy, warm.
Habitat: Bramble scrub adjacent to a cycle track.
Specimen was observed briefly in pursuit of another Dipteran if that helps, though given that it was pursuing an adult
Lucilia species, and Ichneumons usually choose larval stages for reproductive purposes, this might be misleading. Why it was pursuing an adult fly is consequently something of a mystery to me.
Specimen has antennae divided colourwise into three equal sections, black, white, black. Antennae are constantly bobbing in front of the specimen even when the specimen is at rest, hence the antennae aren't in sharp focus like the rest of the insect. As the photograph was taken in natural daylight, I think the white markings on the hind tibia are real, and not a photographic artefact, as might be the case if I had used flash.
Estimated body length of specimen: 15 mm.
Posted by Calilasseia on 07-10-2013 05:52
#4
Tristram, there are other candidates on that page as well ... which has also helped me gain a handle on a black and yellow species I've spotted here in the UK, but gave up hope some time ago of ever being able to identify, so even though your link only narrowed down the possibilities for my specimen above to four or five Genera, it's helped narrow down the possibilities for one other specimen in my collection to a single Genus, which is progress indeed!
Many thanks for that page - it's been quite an eye opener!