Wild Facts About The Ichneumon Wasps

05/22/2023 Nature Journal

I was heading home from my after-lunch nature walk when movement amongst the green leaves next to the trail caught my attention (as it always does).

Peering closer, I spotted this black insect crawling over the leaves of what looked like some kind of wild grapevine. It waved long, bright yellow antennae continuously and appeared unconcerned about my interest.

As usual, I had no idea what species it was until I could research in my field fields but I guessed it was some kind of wasp.

When it shifted position or buzzed its wings, I could see its wasp-waist pedicle clearly. Its wings also clued me in that it was probably some kind of wasp. All four wings were fully membranous and had very large, obvious cells.

As the wasp moved about the leaf, the angle at which sunlight struck its body changed. The changing angle completely changed the color of this insect.

Most of the time, the wasp was solid, nondescript black. But when it shifted just right in the sun, its color bloomed into a deep, gorgeous purple.

After consulting every insect field guide I own, I’m pretty sure this was a Gnamptopelta obsidianator, a parasitoid ichneumon wasp species whose larvae send countless caterpillars to prolonged and painful deaths by eating them from the inside out.

But with so many thousands of ichneumon wasp species known to live in the eastern United States, I could certainly be wrong.

Whether I’m right or wrong about the species identification, this wasp’s beauty entranced me for several minutes and I’m glad I saw it, even if its parasitoid ways offend my human sensibilities.

Obviously, beauty and vicious habits coexist in nature. I imagine there’s a lesson in there somewhere.

Conditions