Orchid Dupe Wasp - Lissopimpla excelsa
Family ICHNEUMONIDAE
This page contains pictures and information about Orchid Dupe Wasps that we found in the Brisbane area, Queensland, Australia.
- Body length 20mm, male
Male
- Pictures were taken in Daisy Hills near Buhot Creek on Apr 2008. The genus Lissopimpla can be identified by the hind femur with a ventral tooth.
- We saw many of them on grass flowers on May 2010 in Wishart near Bulimba Creek.
Female
- Their larvae are parasitic. Most caterpillars and pupas are targeted host. The female wasp locates the food plants of the host then searches with her antennae for a suitable host. The female has the long ovipositor which is used to insert eggs into the host body. The length of the ovipositor allows the female to inject her eggs into hidden hosts such as leaf-rolling or stem-boring caterpillars.
- Please check the Ichneumon Wasps page for more general information above this wasp.
- Reference and Link:
- 1. Wasps - family Ichneumonidae - lifeunseen.com, by Nick Monaghan.
- 2. An introduction to the Ichneumonidae of Australia - Gauld, I.D. 1984, British Museum, Fig.92, p64.
- 3. Lissopimpla excelsa - Australian Insect Common Names, CSIRO, 2005.
