After having the identity confirmed, I learnt that whilst superficially similar to species such as ichneumons or black spider wasps, they are easily separable by a combination of characters. The most noticeable features, both in the field and when looking at photos, are the long antennae with 26 or 27 segments and characteristic forewing venation with 10 developed cells and well-formed costal cell.

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Pseudogonalos hahnii is a hyperparasitoid wasp with an unusual and complex biological strategy where it lays its eggs on foliage in the hope that they will be consumed by lepidopteran larvae and then for that host to be parasitised by a primary parasitoid before it can complete its development. Interestingly, the trigonalid larvae will develop to adulthood regardless of whether the secondary host was parasitised by the primary host species before or after it ingested the trigonalid eggs as the larvae can remain viable for several months if necessary, waiting for the a suitable ichneumonid parasitoid female to oviposit into it.

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When the adult finally emerges it will have a very short life span, that rarely lasts more than just a few days, which is probably the main reason why the species is so rarely seen or collected by entomologists.

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