''Echthromorpha intricatoria'', also known as the cream-spotted ichneumon, is a common wasp found in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. It cannot sting and does not build nests, and is harmless to humans. The female injects eggs into

pupae A pupa ( la, pupa, "doll"; plural: ''pupae'') is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation between immature and mature stages. Insects that go through a pupal stage are holometabolous: they go through four distinct stages in their ...

of moths and butterflies with the

ovipositor The ovipositor is a tube-like organ used by some animals, especially insects, for the laying of eggs. In insects, an ovipositor consists of a maximum of three pairs of appendages. The details and morphology of the ovipositor vary, but typical ...

, particularly favouring the

Nymphalidae The Nymphalidae are the largest family of butterflies, with more than 6,000 species distributed throughout most of the world. Belonging to the superfamily Papilionoidea, they are usually medium-sized to large butterflies. Most species have a red ...

(admiral family). '' Metacrias huttoni'' has been shown to be a host species for ''E. intricatoria''. The body is mostly black with creamy plates on the sides of the abdomen. The clear wings have a span of around . Antennae and legs are orange.

References

Ichneumonidae Hymenoptera of Australia Hymenoptera of New Zealand Insects described in 1804 {{Ichneumonidae-stub