Comments for
Black winged bug with reversed scorpion tail (Pelecinid wasp female)

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WOW - nice tail
by: Shadymutton

We also found one of these ladies on our deck rail this summer - the dog ran up and scared it off just as I was trying to get a picture of it. Thanks for filling in the blanks about what that was - I was clueless.
Pelecinid wasp female
by: Moni

Sheldon and Meredith
You were very fortunate to see a female Pelecinid wasp. The long "scorpion" like tail is the ovipositor. The ovipositor in female insects is used to lay eggs. In this case the female uses the length of its ovipositor to reach into rotting wood to larva of scarab beetle grubs, where it then lays an egg. The wasp larva feed inside the grubs. Gross but interesting!
The male wasps do not have the long "tail" and are rarely noticed.

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