[telecom69]

Would be grateful if anyone can identify this insect, I have never ever seen anything like this before ....its about 2 inches long and that appendage from its rear end made me look twice especially as its split and seems to emerge from two points,white spots on its body and red legs ....hoping someone can identify

[Skivvywaver]

Wow, you Brits got some weird bugs. At first I thought of a dragonfly of some sort but that isn't what it is.

I know what it is, it is an elephino.

[xgerryx]

Looks a bit like a wood wasp but I am not sure

[telecom69]

Originally Posted by Skivvywaver

Wow, you Brits got some weird bugs. At first I thought of a dragonfly of some sort but that isn't what it is.

Not so sure it is one of ours because Ive never seen one of these before thats why I asked

Gerry, looked up wood wasp and dont think its one of those but at least I found out what that long appendage is to the rear,apparantly its called an oviposter and used for laying eggs ....

Thanks to you both for your inputs

[hewee]

Yea it is a dead bug.

[bygum]

The only one I have seen but with out the prong the one I have is about 1 in's long it digs a hole in the sand about 1 to 2 in's then go's off and kills its pray brings it back drags it down the hole it the comes out and fills in the hole it could be that the prongs are left behind in the hole.

[ymfoster]

Originally Posted by hewee

Yea it is a dead bug.

Harry it's a dead Wasp

[ymfoster]

Originally Posted by bygum

The only one I have seen but with out the prong the one I have is about 1 in's long it digs a hole in the sand about 1 to 2 in's then go's off and kills its pray brings it back drags it down the hole it the comes out and fills in the hole it could be that the prongs are left behind in the hole.

So I guess the dead prey is for the hatchlings then,
unless he buries his food for later like a dog does

[telecom69]

Originally Posted by bygum

The only one I have seen but with out the prong the one I have is about 1 in's long it digs a hole in the sand about 1 to 2 in's then go's off and kills its pray brings it back drags it down the hole it the comes out and fills in the hole it could be that the prongs are left behind in the hole.

Yes well that prong, as far as I can find out, is called an oviposter and its used for laying eggs so perhaps its just the females that have that ....do you happen to know what they are called ?

[telecom69]

Originally Posted by ymfoster

Harry it's a dead Wasp

Hi YM you seem to think its a wasp are you just guessing or do you know that for sure ? because Im pretty sure its not a native to the UK ....

[ymfoster]

Originally Posted by telecom69

Hi YM you seem to think its a wasp are you just guessing or do you know that for sure ? because Im pretty sure its not a native to the UK ....

Hi telecom,

We have Wasps here like that with long thin bodies,
haven't seen one laying eggs with its oviposter extended though

Here's the result of a Google search


http://images.google.com.au/images?q...=Search+Images



http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/ga...aspspecies.JPG

[iltos]

Originally Posted by xgerryx

Looks a bit like a wood wasp but I am not sure

yeppers....aka horntail

the oviposter is not the reason for tha name, according to this
http://www.bibleocean.com/OmniDefinition/Siricidae

Siricoidea, a group well-represented in early Tertiary and Mesozoic times, but the family Anaxyelidae has recently been linked to this group. The last tergite of the female abdomen has a strong, projecting spike, thus giving the group its common name (the ovipositor is typically longer and also projects posteriorly, but it is not the source of the name). A typical adult horntail is brown, blue or black with yellow parts in colour, and may often reach up to 4 cm long. The pigeon horntail (Tremex columba) can grow up to 5 cm long (not counting the ovipositor), among the longest of all Hymenoptera.

Female horntails lay their eggs in trees. The larvae bore into the wood and live in the tree for up to 2 years, possibly more. They typically migrate to just under the bark before pupation.

[bygum]

I am almost sure now that it is the wasp I am talking about and you only see these in the summer your right Ym the prong is use to lay there eggs in there pray.

[xgerryx]

Here is one similar we see over here in NZ. We don't see them often so my other half took its photo

[telecom69]

I eventually got a positive ident on my bug,and indeed it was a member of the wasp family called a Sabre Wasp .....

The Sabre Wasp is a type of insect called an Ichneumon Fly. Ichneumons have a wasp waist, and often, long, flexible antennae. The apparently fearsome-looking sting at the end of the female wasp's abdomen in the picture above, is actually an ovipositor, rather than a sting. These insects are harmless to humans. The adults feed on nectar from flowers and aphid honeydew.

So thanks to all who helped