Horntail

Subject:  Flying insect
Geographic location of the bug:  Coquitlam, BC
Date: 07/27/2021
Time: 06:14 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  I found this creepy flying insect while landscaping, never seen anything like it before curious what it is.
How you want your letter signed:  Zach Rayner

Horntail

Dear Zach,
This is a Horntail in the genus Uroceros, a type of Wood Wasp whose larvae bore in wood.  There are three similar looking species in the genus found in British Columbia.  It appears your image was shot in late afternoon sunlight, and when we corrected for the warm golden color that lighting at that time of day imparts to the subject it falls upon, we believe this is the White Horned Horntail Wasp, Urocerus albicornis, which is pictured on BugGuide.   According to BugGuide:  “hosts include fir, larch, spruce, pine, Douglas-fir, hemlock, and western red cedar.”

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