Rhyssa persuasoria

Rhyssa persuasoria, the giant ichneumon (also known as the sabre wasp), is a species belonging to the family Ichneumonidae subfamily Rhyssinae.

Rhyssa persuasoria
Rhyssa persuasoria - Female
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Arthropoda
Subphylum:
Hexapoda
Class:
Insecta
Order:
Hymenoptera
Family:
Ichneumonidae
Subfamily:
Rhyssinae
Genus:
Rhyssa
Species:
R. persuasoria
Binomial name
Rhyssa persuasoria
(Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms
  • Ichneumon matutinus Christ, 1791
  • Rhyssa gloriosa Rudow, 1889
  • Rhyssa marginalis Brulle, 1846
  • Rhyssa matutina (Christ, 1791)

It is found in most of Europe, in North America, in the Australasian realm, in the Near East, in the Nearctic realm, in North Africa, and in the Indomalayan realm.

Rhyssa persuasoria (meaning persuasive burglar) is one of the largest ichneumon wasps in Europe. The length of adults varies from about 10–20 millimetres (0.39–0.79 in) in males up to 20–40 millimetres (0.79–1.57 in) in the females, plus about 20–40 millimetres (0.79–1.57 in) of the ovipositor. They 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.

They can mainly be encountered from July through August, especially in paths and clearings of coniferous forests.

Rhyssa persuasoria, female laying eggs

Female of this parasitic species drills deep into wood by its hair thin ovipositor (terebra) and lays its eggs on larvae living in timber, which become a food supply and an incubator for the progeny, until it is fully grown. 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 Horntail or Wood Wasps (Urocerus gigas, Siricidae species, a type of xylophagous sawfly), as well as larvae of Longhorn Beetle (Spondylis buprestoides, Monochamus sutor) and Great Capricorn Beetle (Cerambyx cerdo).

Subspecies
  • Rhyssa persuasoria var. himalayensis Wilkinson, 1927
  • Rhyssa persuasoria var. nepalensis Kamath & Gupta, 1972
  • Rhyssa persuasoria var. nigrofacialis Meyer, 1922
gollark: How mean.
gollark: All bees are Turing-complete, actually.
gollark: I have bees, actually.
gollark: (ingame)
gollark: Fine, I'll go make Minoteaur.

References
  • Grandi G., 1951 – Introduzione allo studio dell’Entomologia. Ediz. Agricole, Bologna
  • J. P. Spradberya1 and D. A. Ratkowsky - An analysis of geographical variation in the parasitoid Rhyssa persuasoria (L.) (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae) - Bulletin of Entomological Research, Cambridge University Press 1974
  • Grujic, D. - The life and development of the ichneumon Rhyssa persuasoria, a parasite of Siricidae – Journal Zastita Bilja 1970 Vol. 21 No. 107 pp. 63–70
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