Parasitic Wasp (Gasteruption sp) (1/6)

Hymenoptera: Gasteruptidae

Gasteruption sp  

As I stood in bushland in Moondarra State Park near the Tyers River, I noticed a small but remarkable-looking wasp hovering around and along the fallen tree trunk beside me, appearing to examine the surface as it went.

As it flew, it dangled two large (relative to its own size) rear legs, and held aloft a long conical abdomen with what appeared to be a white-tipped ovipositor at its end.