Wasp/fly for ID please

[LoveT]

Hi

I saw this in my back garden the other evening - I initially thought (judging by the flight and size) it might have been something like a lacewing, but once it settled - very briefly - and I was able to get a photo, I could see it was nothing of the sort!



As said, I thought it was pretty small - at a guess, I would say approx. 15mm from tip of head to end of abdomen, plus the same length again for the 'tail' section. It seemed to have a very delicate flight pattern - other than guessing it's possibly a member of the wasp/ichneumon family (going by the eye shape), I have absolutely no idea what it could be.

Any clues out there? Thank you very much

Thea

[Jason Green]

Morning Thea,

It's Gasteruption jaculator, unless there are similar species I'm not aware of.

Take care,

Jason

[LoveT]

Cheers Jason

That looks like the one - an impressive little 'beast'

Many thanks

Thea

[Jason Green]

Should've said - it's a wasp, family Gasteruptiidae (=Gasteruptionidae).

[Laurence Clemons]

There are several species so, for the time being, keep it as Gasteruption sp.