Gershner's Jumping Bristletail vs Ichneumon Wasp

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Gershner's Jumping Bristletail Ichneumon Wasp
Scientific Name Pedetontus gershneri Megarhyssa macrurus
Order Archaeognatha Hymenoptera
Family Machilidae Ichneumonidae
Size 8-10 mm 25-50 mm body plus 100+ mm ovipositor
Habitat Woodlands Woodlands
Diet Detritivores Parasitoids
Regions United States North America
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Gershner's Jumping Bristletail

A North American jumping bristletail found in leaf litter and under bark. It has a distinctly humped thorax and long tail filaments.

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Did You Know?

Like all Archaeognatha, it molts throughout its entire adult life.

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.