pigeon tremex

not listed

NNR - Unranked

not listed

Pigeon tremex is a large, widespread, and very common horntail wasp. It occurs in the United States east of the Rocky Mountains, in adjacent Canadian provinces, and in northern Mexico. There are a few records from California, where it was likely introduced by human activity but may not be self-sustaining. It is found in dead and decaying hardwood trees. It is active in deciduous woodlands from late July to early October.

Adult females are 1″ to 1 3 ⁄16″ (25 to 30 mm) long. Males are smaller, ¾″ to 1″ (20 to 25 mm) long. The base of the abdomen is broadly joined to the thorax.

The head is mostly reddish-brown. There are two large compound eyes, one on each side of the head; and three small simple eyes (ocelli) in a triangular pattern at the top of the head between the compound eyes. The antennae are thread-like, short, and widened in the middle. They are mostly light reddish-brown but are sometimes dark in the middle. They are clearly shorter than the costal cell of the forewing. They have 11 to 14 segments, not including the scape and pedicel at the base.

The front part of the body (mesosoma), consisting of the pronotum, mesoscutum, scutellum, and propodeum, is densely pitted and mostly reddish-brown. The pronotum is wider than long and shorter in the middle than at the sides. The mesoscutum is reddish-brown in the middle, black on the sides.

The abdomen has ten segments and is highly variable in color. It is not covered with golden hairs. It is mostly dark with pale markings. The dark color may be black or reddish-brown. The pale color may be reddish-brown, yellow, or a combination of the two. Females tend to be dark with distinct yellow stripes. On the female, the first segment (T1) is mostly pale. T2 through T8 are pale on the sides at the base. T9 may have a pale spot on each side or be mostly pale. T10 is all or mostly black. Males tend to be lighter, reddish-brown or orange, with less distinct markings. At the end of the abdomen on both sexes there is a short spine or horn (cornus) above (dorsally), from which the family gets its common name “horntails”. The female also has a long needle-like tube (ovipositor) at the tip of the abdomen. The sheath enclosing the ovipositor is reddish-brown.

The wings may be lightly tinted, darkly tinted, or almost black.

The legs may be mostly yellow, reddish-brown, or black. The fourth leg segment (tibia) has a single small spur at the tip.

Male: ¾″ to 1″ (20 to 25 mm)

Female: 1″ to 1 3 ⁄16″ (25 to 30 mm)

Deciduous woodlands

Late July to early October

The female may look fierce with its long ovipositor, but horntails do not sting.

The female pushes 2 to 7 eggs into a dead or weakened branch. Eggs hatch in the fall or overwinter and hatch in the spring. Adults emerge in mid- to late summer.

Elm, hickory, maple, oak, poplar, apple, hackberry, and probably other hardwood trees.

Sources

24, 27, 29, 30, 82, 83.

Widespread and very common

I think this is a male Pigeon Tremix Horntail...

It was resting on a fall colored sumac when I happened to notice it.

This large hornet, ? wasp?...

was on my backyard birch tree recently. It looked like a big hornet or wasp type insect but no idea really. It was about a good 2 inches in length. Sat motionless for a few days but not there anymore.

Location: Albany, NY

Location: Albany, NY

Location: Brainerd, MN

Location: Rural Norman Co., Mn.

Location: Frenchman’s Bluff SNA in Norman Co. MN