Female Ichneumon Wasp on Porch. Late June. The Victory Garden Collection.
by Amy E Fraser
Title
Female Ichneumon Wasp on Porch. Late June. The Victory Garden Collection.
Artist
Amy E Fraser
Medium
Photograph - Vegetable Garden Photography
Description
Female Ichneumon Wasp on Porch. Late June.
About the beautiful and beneficial Ichneumon Wasp: Ichneumons are much like their cousins, the stinging wasps, only slenderer and with longer antennae (usually at least half the length of the body, with 16 or more segments). The females usually have dramatically long ovipositors (a needle like or filament-like appendage at the tip of the abdomen used for laying eggs) — it’s often longer than the entire body. Ichneumons are the largest family of any of the animals, with some 60,000 to 100,000 species worldwide. They are common and can be found in nearly all habitats. The name “ichneumon” comes from Greek words meaning “tracker” and “footprint,” and the females of these parasitic wasps certainly do hunt for, and track down, their various host species. The young of ichneumons are mostly internal parasites of the larvae in the families comprising the beetles; the butterflies and moths; and the ants, bees, and wasps; plus flies and spiders. The mother ichneumon typically inserts her eggs into the body of the host — usually a grub or caterpillar — and the hungry larval ichneumons, devouring their hosts from the inside, usually end up killing their hosts by the time they are ready to pupate and become adult ichneumons. Most people consider ichneumons beneficial, as they play a huge role in controlling insects, including many considered pests or injurious (such as tomato hornworms, boll weevils, and wood borers).
The Victory Garden collection is presented as a photo diary of Amy E. Fraser’s vegetable gardening journey during the 2020 pandemic. All works in collaboration with Mother Nature, combining Art, Agriculture, Landscaping and Adventure!
The Victory Garden Photographs by Amy E. Fraser. Images captured in the abundant vegetable gardens surrounding Amy E. Fraser’s home in the beautiful state of New Hampshire. All images copyright Amy E. Fraser. All rights reserved.
Uploaded
October 15th, 2020
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