Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Suborder: Apocrita
Superfamily: Ichneumonoidea
Family: Ichneumonidae
Genus: Ctenochares
Species: Ctenochares bicolorus
Synonyms: Ctenochares xanthomelas, Ctenochares apicalis,
Ctenochares rufator, Ctenochares apicalis, Ctenochares instructor
Ctenochares deustor.
Common name: Black-tipped orange Ichneumon Wasp
Ctenochares bicolorus is a wasp with a body length of 25mm. It is a parasite on Moth caterpillar of Noctuidae, Chrysodeixis sp. (owlet moths) including the crop pest Chrysodeixis chalcites. It is a native to Africa but now has spread around the world including New Zealand.
This large Ichneumon wasp has a long and slender abdomen that is mainly bright orange with a black abdomen tip. Wings are an orange colour with black forewing tip. The head is orange-brown in colour. The antennae are orange with a middle white band. On forewing, there is the large pentagonal areolet (small enclosed area).
Thanks to Wikipedia for text and information: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
