Talk:Megarhyssa macrurus

A fact from Megarhyssa macrurus appeared on Wikipedia's Main Page in the Did you know column on 18 December 2010 (check views). The text of the entry was as follows:

Did you know... that the wasp Megarhyssa macrurus (pictured) paralyzes her prey by injecting it with an ovipositor 4 inches (10 cm) long?

A record of the entry may be seen at Wikipedia:Recent additions/2010/December.

Wikipedia

This new stub[edit]

I'll be back to fix it up. Anna Frodesiak (talk) 03:54, 13 December 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Sting or no sting?[edit]

I've got a problem : the article (and, I admit, the sources linked) states that the was is not dangerous to humans as it cannot sting. Yet, it also states that the tremex larva is paralysed with a sting. This sure looks like a contradiction and needs correction or explanation. --Svartalf (talk) 07:51, 18 December 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Yes. This article seems to contradict itself. I don't quite know what to do. Anna Frodesiak (talk) 22:01, 19 December 2010 (UTC)[reply]

This says it can sting. I will change the article to "can sting but is not considered harmful to humans" until better info comes along. Anna Frodesiak (talk) 22:04, 19 December 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Not a stinging insect.[edit]

I just want to point out that Megarhyssa species cannot sting. I'm not sure what sources are considered reliable - http://ipmnews.msu.edu/landscape/Landscape/tabid/92/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/1572/Megarhyssa-wasps.aspx and http://books.google.com/books?id=icyVPVBVnUQC&pg=PT94&lpg=PT94&dq=megarhyssa+sting&source=bl&ots=JFiZzBzcUF&sig=H5kXbzPUTYn05Y_JlV9YRDStSe4&hl=en&ei=lZdHTpy0N6ymsQKz2b2SCA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=6&ved=0CDUQ6AEwBTgK#v=onepage&q=megarhyssa%20sting&f=false both say that the insect cannot sting humans.

The source currently provided - http://insects.tamu.edu/fieldguide/cimg327.html - says that some species of ichneumon are capable of stinging; it does not say that Megarhyssa macrurus in particular is able to do so.

Sorry, I'm not sure how to add a comment to the current discussion about this, so I added a new section.--Chliggquat (talk) 09:53, 14 August 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Megarhyssa macrurus -> Megarhyssa greenei[edit]

The main photo appears to be a Megarhyssa greenei female instead of Megarhyssa macrurus. The source link listed for the photo, http://www.cirrusimage.com/hymenoptera_ichneumon_megarhyssa_fem.htm also says M. greenei. Similarly the first item in the External Links section points to more M. greenei photos instead of M. macrurus. — Preceding unsigned comment added by CYRIC (talk • contribs) 01:44, 6 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]

You may well be correct, but there are a few problems: (1) telling these species apart is extremely difficult; the degree of wing marking is variable, so the only really reliable trait is the relative length of teh ovipositor; in greenei it's only a little bit more than the total body length, while in macrurus it's roughly double the body length. (2) even if it could be confirmed, that's a lot of images hat would need to be edited (on way more than just the English-language WP), and the image name would still say macrurus, so it's likely that even if you did the necessary editing, others might likely revert your edits (3) ultimately, you'd probably be better off simply locating a definitive photo of macrurus, and replacing the misidentified photos entirely. A good cautionary example of what can happen when non-experts make photo IDs. Dyanega (talk) 23:25, 26 February 2016 (UTC)[reply]

External links modified (January 2018)[edit]

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Wiki Education assignment: General Entomology[edit]

This article was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment, between 15 August 2022 and 5 December 2022. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): Nprosenthal14 (article contribs).

— Assignment last updated by Nprosenthal14 (talk) 13:32, 5 December 2022 (UTC)[reply]