HYMENOPTERA > APOCRITA | Parasitica > Ichneumonidae > Pimplinae > Pimplini

Pimpla rufipes is a medium-sized (10-15mm) black species with orange legs, with females that could easily be mistaken for Apecthis compunctor except that they have a relatively short and thick ovipositor, which doesn't have a downward curve at the tip. The hind legs are only slightly larger than the other pairs and the ‘waist’ between the thorax and abdomen is short.

The males can be difficult to distinguish from photos, although other Pimpla species, and those of the related genus Itoplectis, have white-banded hind tibiae and are usually smaller. The identity of the individual featured here was confirmed by an expert.

Pimpla rufipes is an idiobiont endoparasitoid of butterfly and moth larvae in which the female will inject a single egg. The adults can be seen feeding on flowers from June right through to late September or early August.

The species is widely known as the Black Slip Wasp.

Updated, March 25 (v.2)