Went mothing with a friend and this beauty showed up. Please excuse my slightly dirty fingers, I carefully scooped her up from the ground with my bare hands. The talking is my friend describing a picture he had just taken of an Ichneumonoid wasp. (Ottawa, Ontario, Canada)
Most people hate wasps, and I understand being traumatized or having phobias, but they really aren't as evil as people make them out to be. They only sting when they feel threatened. Venom is costly in nature, so it wouldn't be very efficient to waste it on something trivial. These non-native, true hornets were introduced in North America in the 1840s.
I always get excited when seeing this species. I really do think that wasps are misunderstood insects. They are very important pest control and pollinators as well.
