I spotted this critter sitting on the track of a toy bulldozer at a family picnic over the summer here in Western NY (about 60 mi. sw of Buffalo). I’ve never seen anything like this !
Can anyone tell me what the heck it is?
Merry Christmas to you all,
Paul
I believe it is a member of the Ichneumon Wasp family. The “stinger” on the business end of the wasp is actually an ovipositor used to lay her eggs. Some of the species burrow into sand or soft soil and go sting catipillars to drag into the burrow where they lay their eggs on the still living but paralyzed catipillar which will act as food for the larva. Others of the species have very long ovipositors and they slide it into tiny cracks in wood to lay their eggs.
While they look evil and wicked, they are actually very good to have around as insect control for distructive insects.
Jim Smith
Looks like a Cicada Killer (member of the wasp family).
Regards,
Scott
OMG! Seems an F16!
i’m glad you posted this,i had found one of these earlier in the year and added it to my specimen collection until i found someone who could identify it.thanks
That’s what we call them here also, Scott. They begin digging their tunnels just before the cicadas begin to come up. I have watched many of those things carry those cicadas into those holes in the ground. And like JamesSmith said, they are relatively harmless but beneficial.
George
Paul, I’m glad you specified that is a toy bulldozer. That would be one huge wasp. Merry Christmas. Jim
I too thought it Looked like a Cicada Killer but here in VA. they would have actual hair on thier back. Awesome what ever it is and would imagine good for the enviroment. Now if I could get one to carry away my neighbor toy, whatever kind of dog it may be.
It is a specimen of Tremex columba, commonly called a “Pigeon Horntail”. The female uses the ovipositor to lay eggs in certain types of wood, and the larvae feed on the wood. I know this species will bore in dead and dying maples, ash, and elms among others. It is not a “cicada killer” wasp (Sphecius speciosus) and it has a totally different life history.
Another example of how confusing and misleading the use of common names can be!
Ichneumon wasps of various species are primary predators of this species- as James Smith said, the female Ichneumon can detect the Tremex larvae in wood, and they use the long ovipositor to drill into the wood and lay an egg near the Tremex larva. Then the Ich larva hatches and becomes a parasite on the Tremex larva. There is freaky sh** in the insect world that science fiction and horror writers haven’t even thought up.
I don’t know what it is, but I do know that you were much too close to it to get that picture.
As a certified wood technologist I have spent more than a little time studying these fellers and you are absolutely correct. I found one this spring in upstate NY while visiting the old family farm (Pawling) and really liked playing with it.
Thank you all for your responses (and humor, too). I was confused because it didn’t have the skinny waist of a wasp. And Tim, it was dead when I found it…:D, so couldn’t play with it, Hap. 
In all my years I 'd never seen one…now I know. Thought I’d discovered some “previously-thought-of-as-extinct” species. Guess not…
