xiphydriid wood wasp

5914.  Hello,  I have noticed these bugs over the past couple of weeks in my house. I live in northern Ontario and it is currently winter outside. They are about 2 cm long and are very slow moving. They have been hanging out around a large window at the front of my house . I have no idea what they are and haven’t been able to identify them.  Thank you,  Danielle

This is a xiphydriid wood wasp (Hymenoptera: Xiphydriidae), possibly Xiphydria mellipes – see http://tinyurl.com/ja5ecqf for an image. This wasp will not harm anything in your home; their larvae bore and feed in small dead or weakened limbs of trees, primarily birch.  Ed Saugstad, retired entomologist; Sinks Grove, WV.