Look at those rear legs! It’s like they banded this one. Which would be a feat, since these are rather small insects.
This is the Common Hoover Fly Parasitoid Wasp (Diplazon laetatorius).
A member of the wide and wonderful world of Ichneumonidae, the ichneumon wasps, this one, as its name tells you, parasitizes hover fly larvae. Is that what it is doing here?
I don’t know what this tiny one is, but what she’s doing is laying her eggs in an old coreopsis with her body-length ovipositor. Is she searching for something to parasitize down there? Note the pollen on her ovipositor.
A couple of other Ichneumonidae seen recently, species unknown:
Backyard and Beyond 
Leave a comment