Ichneumonid wasp
(Vulgichneumon brevicinctor)
Conservation • Description • Habitat • Ecology • Distribution • Taxonomy
Conservation Status |
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| IUCN Red List | not listed |
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| NatureServe | not listed |
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| Minnesota | not listed |
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Description
There are about 700 species of ichneumon wasps in the subfamily Ichneumoninae. Vulgichneumon brevicinctor is one of the most common of these. It occurs in the United States and southern Canada east of the Great Plains. It is common in Minnesota.
Adults are black and about ½″ (12 mm) in length.
The plate on the face above the upper lip (clypeus) is short and the lower lip (labium) is exposed. The antennae are black with a broad white band near the middle. The band is closer the head on the female than on the male.
The last segment of the thorax (propodeum) is long and has distinct faces on the upperside at the rear (dorsoposterior).
The abdomen is flattened from top to bottom. The last segment of the abdomen is white. The small exoskeletal plate between the wing bases (scutellum) is white. The female has a short egg-laying tube (ovipositor) at the end of the abdomen.
The legs on the female are mostly black. The small, second segment (trochanter) on the hind leg is white. The legs on the male are entirely black.
The small second submarginal cell (areolet) near the center of the wing has five sides.
Size
Total length: about ½″ (12 mm)
Similar Species
Habitat and Hosts
Lepidoptera larvae
Ecology
Season
Behavior
Adults are active in the morning and evening, and avoid the intense heat of midday.
Life Cycle
Adult females overwinter.
Larva Food/Hosts
Larva are internal parasites of moths. Young have been reared in the laboratory on cabbage looper moth, European corn borer, and fall webworm moth.
Adult Food
Aphid honeydew and plant foliage
Distribution |
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Sources Biodiversity occurrence data published by: Minnesota Biodiversity Atlas (accessed through the Minnesota Biodiversity Atlas Portal, bellatlas.umn.edu, 12/1/2025). |
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| 12/1/2025 | ||
Occurrence |
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Common |
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Taxonomy
Order
Hymenoptera (Ants, Bees, Wasps, and Sawflies)
Suborder
Apocrita (Narrow-waisted Wasps, Ants, and Bees)
Superfamily
Ichneumonoidea (Ichneumonid and Braconid Wasps)
Family
Ichneumonidae (Ichneumonid Wasps)
Subfamily
Ichneumoninae
Tribe
Ichneumonini
Genus
Vulgichneumon
Subordinate Taxa
Synonyms
Ichneumon brevicinctor
Vulgichneumon extrematis
Vulgichneumon niger
Common Names
This species has no common name. The common name of the family Ichneumonidae is ichneumonid wasps, and it is used here for convenience.
Glossary
Clypeus
On insects, a hardened plate on the face above the upper lip (labrum).
Ovipositor
A tube-like organ near the end of the abdomen of many female insects, used to prepare a place for an egg and to place the egg.
Scutellum
The exoskeletal plate covering the rearward (posterior) part of the middle segment of the thorax in some insects. In Coleoptera, Hemiptera, and Homoptera, the dorsal, often triangular plate behind the pronotum and between the bases of the front wings. In Diptera, the exoskeletal plate between the abdomen and the thorax.
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Alfredo Colon |
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MinnesotaSeasons.com Photos
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Slideshows
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Other Videos
Vulgichneumon brevicinctor 2-SPOT ICHNEUMON hunting
Rob Curtis
Wasp Laying Eggs in a Caterpillar - Vulgichneumon brevicinctor vs. Bronzed Cutworm
Wandering Sole Images
Visitor Sightings
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Alfredo Colon
8/15/2019
Location: Woodbury, MN
MinnesotaSeasons.com Sightings
