Giant Ichneumonid
Caterpillars should be on guard when ichneumonids are in the neighborhood.
Parasitic ichneumon wasps often have long sword-like tubular organs at the end of their abdomens that are used by females to deposit eggs. The females lay the eggs in caterpillar and beetle larvae. The larvae will be food for the flying insects after they hatch and begin developing. These would-be beetles and would-be moths or butterflies stand no chance against the more aggressive species.
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The giant ichneumonid can reach up to one hundred millimeters in length and is introduced in some areas to help control other insect populations. In New Zealand alone, this wasp accounts for more than one hundred species and with its ravenous appetite acts as a natural insecticide, limiting the population explosion of many undesirable insects.
As we have said, the predator eats beetle and caterpillar larvae, but its attack on the worms does not end there. Some varieties of ichneumonids actually hunt adult caterpillars. This species is known as the red soldier and it prefers to rest by day and come out to hunt at night. This nocturnal predator is often attracted to lights, such as outside security lights and light released through house windows. Though it does not drink blood, the red soldier is sometimes called the bloodsucker. The origins of that moniker are uncertain.
