Sabre Wasp

Appearance

"Rhyssa persuasoria" is one of the largest ichneumon wasps in Europe. The length of adults varies from about 10–20 millimetres in males up to 20–40 millimetres in the females, plus about 20–40 millimetres of the ovipositor. These ichneumon wasps have a thin black body, several whitish spots on the head, thorax, and abdomen and reddish legs. The antennae are long and thin. Females have a long ovipositor, which they use when laying eggs. The length of the ovipositor exceeds the body length.

This species is rather similar to "Rhyssa amoena" Gravenhorst, 1829.

Naming

There are four described subspecies of "Rhyssa persuasoria":
⤷ "Rhyssa persuasoria himalayensis" Wilkinson, 1927
⤷ "Rhyssa persuasoria nepalensis" Kamath & Gupta, 1972
⤷ "Rhyssa persuasoria nigrofacialis" Meyer, 1922
⤷ "Rhyssa persuasoria persuasoria"

Distribution

This species is present in most of Europe, in the Australasian realm, in the Near East, in the Nearctic realm, in North Africa, and in the Indomalayan realm. These wasps normally occur in coniferous or mixed woodland.

Behavior

Adults can mainly be encountered from July through August, especially in paths and clearings of coniferous forests. They feed on carbohydrates such as sugar and starch, which are obtained, for example, by eating on honeydew or pine needles. Flowers are not visited.

Female of this parasitic species drills deep into wood by its hair thin ovipositor and lays its eggs on larvae living deep in timber, which become a food supply and an incubator for the progeny, until it is fully grown. This species has one generation a year. Larvae overwinter in the wood, pupating the next spring and emerging from the wood as adults.

Main hosts of "Rhyssa persuasoria " are the larvae of horntails or wood wasps, as well as larvae of longhorn beetles and great capricorn beetle. In North America, its main hosts are "Sirex areolatus" and "Syntexis libocedrii".

Habitat

This species is present in most of Europe, in the Australasian realm, in the Near East, in the Nearctic realm, in North Africa, and in the Indomalayan realm. These wasps normally occur in coniferous or mixed woodland.