Douglas-fir Beetle vs Japanese Giant Ichneumon

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Douglas-fir Beetle Japanese Giant Ichneumon
Scientific Name Dendroctonus pseudotsugae Megarhyssa praecellens
Order Coleoptera Hymenoptera
Family Curculionidae Ichneumonidae
Size 4-6 mm 30-45 mm body, ovipositor up to 80 mm
Habitat Mountains Forests
Diet Wood Feeders Wood Feeders
Regions Western North America from British Columbia to Mexico Japan, Eastern Asia
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Douglas-fir Beetle

A dark reddish-brown bark beetle that attacks Douglas-fir trees, particularly those weakened by drought or windthrow. It is among the most damaging bark beetles in the Pacific Northwest.

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Did You Know?

It preferentially attacks fallen or stressed trees, but during outbreaks it can kill large numbers of healthy standing trees.

Japanese Giant Ichneumon

One of the largest ichneumon wasps in Asia with a remarkably long ovipositor. It parasitizes wood-boring horntail larvae in Japanese forests.

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Did You Know?

Japanese naturalists have studied this species since the Edo period, and it appears in historical entomological scrolls.