Braconid Wasp Earinus elator

As I walk back to my house in the early hours having (hopefully) fed the foxes, I always keep my eye out for any nocturnal insects or anything which might be resting overnight.

This was one such, apparantly asleep on a lamp post?

Braconids form one of the two superfamilies (alongside Ichneumonidae) od parasitic wasps. There are at least 17,000 species with many probably still unrecorded.

Consequently , many species are also under studied.

They are usually less than 1.5cm in length, slender and often dark-bodied. They have thread-like antennae with 16 or more segments. They differ from ichneumon wasps (family Ichneumonidae) in have only a single recurrent vein in the front wing.

The wings are also sometimes banded or spotted. The ovipositor, or egg-laying organ, of the female is long and conspicuous, realative to the length of the body.