Hunting for the allusive Banded Horntail.

Occasionally I come across something amazing. I had just parked my RV and exited the cab when a large insect buzzed loudly beside me then fled away into some nearby underbrush. The unexpected encounter startled me severely, especially without knowing exactly what it was that was so large and noisy. I had heard of the invasion of giant wasps and wondered briefly if this was one of these massive beasts. I didn't get a good look at it as I was still recovering from my start, and it flew off with great power and agility. This was something I had to find again.

Over the next couple of days we did some hiking and paddling, but mostly just enjoyed the vestiges of summer slipping away. I had another opportunity to see the insect and just could make out the yellow and black bands it sported. It was indeed huge, for an insect, and I marveled at its winged prowess. While walking the roads in the campground I came upon some fellow campers and asked if they had seen any such creature. The man told me how he saw one near his woodpile and that he brushed it into the flames for fear it was the giant wasp portrayed on the news. I didn't think it was, but it was good to know that there were more of them and that they may be found around wood.

During the short stay there my aspirations to capture the allusive insect went unfulfilled. We spent our last day down at a lake and had lunch at an empty campsite. We used nearby logs for seats and used a cold firepit to create a makeshift table. While we were eating, a large, noisy insect landed on one of the logs facilitating our dining area. It was the same kind as the previous two I had encountered. I quickly grabbed an empty zip-lock bag and managed to get it inside. The strong jaws, the two pairs of wings, and the long, straight ovipositor made me think it might be a horntail. I wouldn't be sure until I got a chance to refer to my field guides. Zipping up the bag, I stored it away for later examination.

As I have mentioned in previous blogs, I sometimes take my captive treasures and put them in the RV's fridge to make them easier to photograph. A cold insect tends to be very cooperative, at least for a few minutes after retrieval. I placed the plastic encapsulated creature in the fridge and wisely warned my wife not to explore the contents of the appliance too closely. I have caught her unawares before and didn't want to repeat the tongue lashing I received. After a few hours, I pulled out my prize and set about photographing it. Afterwards, I consulted my field guides and discovered it was a banded horntail.

Horntails belong to the wasp family (Hymenoptera), but do not sting despite the wicked-looking spike at the end of its abdomen. That extension is where they get their names from. Males have only one (the yellow protrusion), but females that one and a second, longer black one. The black "tail" is an ovipositor; the female visits dead, dying, and injured spruce trees and inserts it into the wood where an egg is laid. She visits numerous trees and repeats this procedure some 300 times. When finished she dies and the young will hatch to begin their new life. They live two to three years and emerge in the fall to repeat the cycle.

Thanks for reading.     Ericspix     Eric Svendsen