Bizarre Tremex behavior??

[Bill Shear]

On 9/4/02 10:37 AM, "Ken Kinman" <kinman at HOTMAIL.COM> wrote:

> Dear All,
>    This isn't taxonomic, but since there are a number of entomologists on
> the list, I thought someone might know something about this.
>    Tremex wasps normally lay their eggs in soft or rotting wood, but a
> person in Canada reports that these horntail wasps are attacking (inserting
> their ovipositors) in the haunches of their HORSES.  Has anyone here ever
> heard of such a thing in Tremex or related wasps?
>    The wasps were firmly attached to the horses, not just buzzing around
> them.  Why would a horntail wasp do such a thing, and would its larvae
> successfully parasitize and emerge from a horse or any other mammal?

Of course the first question is, does the Canadian person really know
Tremex?  Is the person an entomologist of any kind?  Have specimens been
collected?

Bill Shear