Orange Caterpillar Parasite Wasp
Female, S1, profile
Ellura
Orange Caterpillar Parasite Wasp
Female, S2, Wing Venation
 
                      
Orange Caterpillar Parasite Wasp (Netelia sp ES01)Class: Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta)
Order: Ant Bee Wasps (Hymenoptera)
Family: Ichneumon Wasp (Wasp: Ichneumonoidea: Ichneumonidae)     iNaturalist Observation
Species: Orange Caterpillar Parasite Wasp (Netelia sp ES01)
This Photo:     Female, S1, Wing Venation
Other names: Red Jacket Wasp or Red Soldier Wasp

Thank you Rachel Behm & Susanna Heideman for confirming the id of this species for us

General Species Information:
Found on Ellura (in the Murray Mallee, SA), the Adelaide Hills and elsewhere
~18mm long.
A dangerous looking wasp, but quite placid.
3 purple jewels (actually 3 Ocelli, simple eyes) on top of its head between the compound eyes.
Large wasp with varying shades of light brown to orange across the body.
Clear wings.
We had always thought they were Netelia producta, but further research shows that the wing venation doesn't quite match. While they had the areolet with the missing side, the areolet and wing are different shape; along with other smaller wing venation variations. There are some 12 species in the genus, most with no on-line images available. There are also mention of a large number of undescribed species. As such, we lifted these to genus level.
S1 & S3 were caught & released at Ellura, showing gender variation. S2 was found dead in the Adelaide Hills. It highlights how the ovi-positor is positioned on the bottom of the abdomen, while the protective sheath bent against the posterior end.
To be clear, Susanna confirmed S3 as Netelia. It's important to highlight as we may have made mistakes with the others.

Similar Species: Yellow-faced Moth Parasitic Wasp (Enicospilus skeltonii) : Infrequent Ichneumon Wasp (Eremotylus sp) : Small Netelia Wasp (Netelia sp ES02)

Copyright © 2017-2024 Brett & Marie Smith. All Rights Reserved. Photographed 29-Aug-2017
This species is an Australian Native Species, not listed in the SA Murray Mallee Survey of 2010.