In the foothills and forested areas of Alberta you might come across a large wasp-like insect with what appears to be a pretty serious stinger at the end. But instead of the extremely narrow ‘waist’ that true wasps have, horntails are stout-bodied. Once you notice this, you can relax. The apparent stinger is really an abdominal spine. The female has an extra long pointy end, which includes an ovipositor, used for pushing into wood and laying eggs. Horntails are fairly large insects, in the 20 to 40 mm (¾ to 1 ? in.) long. The body is dark and may have a metallic sheen. There are about six species of horntails in Alberta.
The big larvae, which you probably would never see, burrow deep into the heartwood of whatever tree they make their living in, chewing galleries as they grow. They may spend two or more years in the wood munching larval stage before pupation. A long ‘childhood’ isn’t uncommon for insects that grow up eating matter like wood that has poor nutritional value. Eventually, they pupate inside a chamber in the wood and later emerge. That could even be from timbers already sawn and used in new houses, furniture or from woodpiles!
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