Description

Body length 10 - 15mm. A black ichneumon with bright orange legs. The female's ovipositor is short and thick with a downward curve at the tip. Pimpla rufipes is very similar but the ovipositor is straight. Males are indistinguishable from each other from photographs.

Habitat

Woodland edge and hedgerows, scrubby grassland. The adults forage from flowers, the larvae are endo-parasites of lepidoptera larvae.

Status and distribution

Not very well recorded in Britain. Recorded regularly at Netherfield Lagoons.

Best time to see

May to October.