Two Ichneumonid wasps from the yard.
Great Golden Digger Wasp-Sphex ichneumoneus. The digger moniker comes from their habit of nesting in the ground and laying an egg in each cell then leaving an orthopteran (grasshopper, locust, katydid, etc) in there for the larva to feed upon. One way we avoid having a plague of locusts, I guess.
Another Ichneumonid wasp-Trogus pennator. This species rears its young by parasitizing the larvae of various swallowtail butterflies. Hopefully none of the offspring of the ones I shared yesterday.
Look at those beautiful eyes! The three in the center are the Ocelli, simple eyes as compared to the larger compound eyes. Compound eyes resolve detail while the Ocelli sense light and movement.
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