Ichneumon ID please

[burntfacedjake]

Can anyone please help with an ID for an Ichneumon spotted in my garden? First of all apologies for not attaching a photo. By the time I got back with a camera the insect had left. Anyway:

About 2cm long
Distinct pale creamy markings on upper tibia
Pale creamy spot on thorax
Pale creamy tip to abdomen
Pale creamy band on antennae
otherwise appeared to be all black

The insect was investigating nooks and crannies on a feather-edge fence and wasn't at all put off by me peering very closely at it.

It looked a bit like Ichneumon suspiciosus as shown on p.231 of Insects of Britain and Western Europe by M. Chinnery, but without the coppery markings in that illustration.

Thanks in advance!

[ChrisR]

It's a very brave person that offers an identification to an ichneumon, even with a photo. There are many thousands of species in the UK and most have very similar or identical colouration. That's not to say that you can't be lucky and find one of the few distinctive ones - but they are few and far between and I think yours sounds like one of the tricky ones

You could have a look at the HymIS forums - they have a lot of people posting photos of ichneumons and you might get close to an ID

One of the main problems is that within a species there is variability in size and colour ... and there are usually other species that look identical until you get them under a microscope and check-out really tiny features, like bristles and ridges/roughness on the body.

[burntfacedjake]

Cheers Chris - Point taken. I have avoided things entomological until recently as I realise it can be an ID minefield. I will keep the camera nearer the back door in future!

[ChrisR]

That's OK ... a lot of other insects are fine from photos and this is particularly true if you get plenty of shots of different angles. Even if half the insect is out of focus, as long as the bit that matters is visible you can often get a name

[JRsbugs]

There's been two quite recently which looked to be the same wasp, and yours does sound much the same. There is, as Chris points out, many similar wasps and this one is no exception!

However, as a matter of interest, you might like to look at the wasp on this thread, which does look like Achaius oratorius. Someone else had one the same which was posted on a thread started by Lord V, his was so similar but didn't have the white edging to the eyes. There's several which you might think are the same wasp unless you carefully check the small details, even then it's uncertain.

Some insects for ID

Janet

[burntfacedjake]

Hi Janet - First of all thanks to both you and Chris. To be able to tap into your knowledge is fantastic.

I googled Achaius oratorius and looking at the images I think that is what I saw this morning.

Thanks again for your help.

[JRsbugs]

Originally Posted by burntfacedjake

Hi Janet - First of all thanks to both you and Chris. To be able to tap into your knowledge is fantastic.

I googled Achaius oratorius and looking at the images I think that is what I saw this morning.

Thanks again for your help.

You're welcome, but please be aware of many similar look-alikes. There are others which look just the same, but with only a minor difference.

[burntfacedjake]

Just to illustrate Chris's and Janet's point I have now found an image of Ichneumon molitoriuswhich was also very similar. Insect ID will be my undoing!
I guess I'll just have to chalk it down as an 'Ichneumon' and make a resolution to get photos next time.

Once again, thanks for help on this.

[JRsbugs]

Originally Posted by burntfacedjake

Just to illustrate Chris's and Janet's point I have now found an image of Ichneumon molitoriuswhich was also very similar. Insect ID will be my undoing!.

No, you have made a good start by reailsing this! Keep looking, but there's over 60,000 Ichneumon species worldwide for a start, and many are unnamed! Britain has quite a few..

Ichneumon wasp - Ophion luteus - Information - ARKivexe-xedescription