Fast Facts
-Scientific name is Pelecinus polyturator. It is a wasp in the order Hymenoptera, along with bees and other such wasps (Arnett 1985)
- Female specimen is approximately 50 millimeters in length, with the male being roughly half that length. Both are very shiny, and very dark black (Arnett 1985).
- Reproduce via parthenogenesis (Krombein, et al 1979)
- Are in the super family Procturapoidea, which includes 11 families of parasitic insects (Shih, et al 2010)
- Are a parasitic insect, which means they lay there eggs on a host to let them hatch and feed and pupate (Resh and Carde 2003).
- North American range includes the United States Midwest and East coast, as well as Eastern and Central Canada (Arnett 1985).
- Inhabit deciduous forests (Krombein, et al 1979).
- Adults feed mostly on nectar and pollen (Kate Redmond).
