Banded horntail

7077.          We saw this or a twin bug carring a grasshopper at least 1 1/2 times its size which is about 2 1/2 “. rock creek, BC. Canada

Number 7077. This is a banded horntail, Urocerus gigas flavicornis, (Hymenoptera: Siricidae). Also known as a woodwasp, it would not have been carrying a grasshopper, or any other insect for that matter, as they do not feed on other insects – Click here for details on its life history. The insect carrying the grasshopper more likely was a great golden digger wasp, Sphex ichneumoneus (Hymenoptera: Sphecidae); Click here for an image.