Wood-wasp
Guides
Anaxyelidae
incense cedar wood wasps
Anaxyelidae is a relict family of siricoid wood wasps (Hymenoptera: Symphyta) represented today by a single extant species, Syntexis libocedrii, in western North America. The family was highly diverse during the Mesozoic, with over two dozen extinct genera and more than 50 fossil species documented from Jurassic and Cretaceous deposits across Asia, Europe, and North America. The family comprises two subfamilies: Anaxyelinae, which dominated the Jurassic, and Syntexinae, which prevailed in the Cretaceous and survives today.
Kulcania
Kulcania is a genus of parasitic wasps in the family Orussidae, established by Benson in 1935. The genus is currently listed as doubtful in taxonomic databases, indicating uncertainty about its validity or distinctness from related genera. Members of Orussidae, commonly called parasitic wood wasps, are unusual among Hymenoptera as they are parasitoids of wood-boring beetle larvae rather than other wasps or bees.
Orussus
Orussus is a genus of parasitic wood wasps in the family Orussidae, comprising approximately 11 described species. These wasps are unique among woodwasps for their parasitoid lifestyle, attacking the immature stages of wood-boring beetles and other wasps. Adults are rarely encountered and have historically been poorly collected, though citizen science platforms have recently helped expand knowledge of their distribution. The genus has undergone significant taxonomic revision, now placed in its own superfamily Orussoidea within the suborder Apocrita.
Pamphilius middlekauffi
Pamphilius middlekauffi is a species of sawfly in the family Pamphiliidae, suborder Symphyta. It is one of 30 sawfly species newly recorded in Arkansas during field work by Dr. Michael Skvarla, representing a significant range extension from previously known localities. The species belongs to a group of plant-feeding wasps whose larvae develop on plant material.
Rhyssella nitida
Rhyssella nitida is a diurnal ichneumon wasp in the family Ichneumonidae. The female possesses an exceptionally long ovipositor used to drill into wood and locate host larvae. It is an external parasitoid of wood-wasp larvae in the genus Xiphydria. The species has been documented at blacklight traps, though this appears to be an exception to its normally diurnal activity pattern.
Xeris spectrum
wood wasp, horntail
Xeris spectrum is a large horntail or wood wasp in the family Siricidae, notable within its family for lacking the fungal symbionts that other siricid wasps use to aid larval development in wood. Females possess a powerful ovipositor used to drill into coniferous trees and deposit eggs beneath the bark. The species is widespread across Europe, Asia, Africa, and North America, where it develops in the wood of fir, spruce, pine, and larch. Development from egg to adult takes several years, with larvae emerging in two distinct cohorts—some in summer alongside other wood wasps, others the following spring. The species is considered a timber pest due to larval tunneling that degrades wood quality.
Xiphydria
wood wasps, xiphydriid wood wasps
Xiphydria is a genus of wood wasps in the family Xiphydriidae, distributed across the Holarctic region including Europe, Asia, and North America. Adults are characterized by a distinctive elongated 'neck' formed by the long propleuron, antennae with approximately 20 segments, and mandibles with four teeth. Females oviposit into diseased or dead wood of broadleaf trees and vector symbiotic fungi that decompose wood for larval consumption. The genus is univoltine with one generation per year. While generally of minor economic importance, some species can damage oak and other hardwoods.
Xiphydria abdominalis
Xiphydria abdominalis is a species of wood-wasp in the family Xiphydriidae, a group of sawflies that develop in decaying wood. The genus Xiphydria contains approximately 15 species in North America. These insects are associated with dead and dying hardwood trees, where larvae tunnel in the wood. Adults are diurnal and have been observed flying near host material. The species is part of a guild of wood-inhabiting insects that play important roles in forest decomposition processes.
Xiphydria canadensis
Canadian Wood Wasp
Xiphydria canadensis is a species of wood wasp in the family Xiphydriidae, native to North America. Wood wasps in this family are characterized by their elongated bodies and long ovipositors used to drill into wood to deposit eggs. The species is known to be a host for parasitic ichneumonid wasps, specifically Rhyssella nitida, which uses its long ovipositor to reach the wood wasp larvae inside logs and dead trees. Adults are active during spring and early summer.
Xiphydria maculata
Spotted Wood Wasp
Xiphydria maculata is a wood wasp in the family Xiphydriidae. Adults are known to visit flowers for nectar. The larvae develop as borers in dead or dying hardwood trees, particularly maple and other deciduous species. This species is part of a group of primitive wasps that lack the narrow waist characteristic of most other Hymenoptera.
Xiphydria polia
Xiphydria polia is a species of wood-wasp in the family Xiphydriidae, a group of sawfly-relatives within Hymenoptera. Like other xiphydriids, it is a wood-boring insect whose larvae develop inside dead or dying hardwood trees. The family is characterized by a distinctive cornus—a spine-like projection at the tip of the abdomen present in both sexes. Very little specific information is documented for X. polia compared to better-known relatives such as Xiphydria maculata or the pigeon tremex (Tremex columba).
Xiphydria tibialis
Xiphydria tibialis is a species of wood wasp in the family Xiphydriidae, first described by Thomas Say in 1824. It is one of several species in the genus Xiphydria, which are known as wood wasps due to their larvae developing in dead or dying wood. The species is native to North America. Limited observational data exists for this species, with only 8 documented observations on iNaturalist as of the source date.