African Driver Ant vs Ichneumon Wasp

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute African Driver Ant Ichneumon Wasp
Scientific Name Dorylus wilverthi Megarhyssa macrurus
Order Hymenoptera Hymenoptera
Family Dorylidae Ichneumonidae
Size Workers 3-13 mm; queen up to 50 mm 25-50 mm body plus 100+ mm ovipositor
Habitat Forests Woodlands
Diet Omnivores Parasitoids
Regions Central Africa, East Africa North America
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

African Driver Ant

A notorious army ant species that forms massive raiding columns through the forest floor. Colonies can contain over 20 million individuals.

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Did You Know?

Soldier ants have such powerful jaws that indigenous peoples have used them as natural wound sutures.

Ichneumon Wasp

A large parasitoid wasp with an extremely long, thread-like ovipositor that can exceed the length of its body. Females drill through solid wood to reach their host larvae deep inside.

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Did You Know?

The female can somehow detect horntail larvae vibrations through several centimeters of solid wood and then drill her flexible ovipositor to reach them with remarkable accuracy.