Exotic wood wasp

Sirex noctilio

Appearance

•  Adult - 20 - 40mm. Bodies are metallic blue with orange legs
•  Larvae up to 30 mm. They are creamy white and cylindrical with a dark spine at the end of the abdomen.

Lifecycle

•  Females lay between 20 and 450 eggs after emerging.
•  The larval stage usually lasts for 10 - 11 months before mature larvae pupate for bout 3 weeks near the bark surface.
•  Adults emerge between July and September.
•  They have a two year life cycle.

Habits

•  This wasp prefers pine trees, but will use spruce, fir, larch, and Douglas fir if necessary.
•  Female wasps carry a fungus that they inject into the tree to provision their young. This weakens and will generally kill the tree.