Horntail

Scientific name: Tremex columba and other species
(Hymenoptera: Siricidae)

Facts: Horntails are an unusal because their biology that is not typical of most Hymenoptera. The larvae feed in dead logs much like wood-boring beetle larvae. The adults resemble wasps but they have a wide waist and therefore a cylindrical body. Adults are often found ovipositing on logs.

Photo credit: Bastiaan (Bart) Drees, Extension Entomology, Texas A&M University