The "hunter of the dragons" parasitoid wasp ovipositing

As a celebration of the 10th anniversary of the observation, here is a compilation of previously unreleased footage of ichneumonid “the hunter of the dragons” wasp ovipositing. This wasp is a star of biomimicry inspiring the design of steerable surgical needles.
Learn more at: naturedocument...
This observation was made Aug 10th 2013 on location at the Orange Trail of the Georgia State Botanical Garden in Athens, GA.
The giant Ichneumon prey on wood borers. The females use their antennae to locate horntail wasp larvae inside dead trees. When she locates a larva, she drills into the tree with her impressive ovipositor. When the tip of the ovipositor reaches the prey larva, she deposits an egg on it. The young Ichneumon larva emerging from the egg feeds on the Horntail larva and after pupates in the wood. When mature, it chews its way out as an adult wasp. Males are attracted to the vibrations generated by wood chewing. Many males can gather around the emergence site waiting to mate with the female. Three species of Megarhyssa (atrata, greenei, macrurus) prey on the same species and all could be in the tree at the same time. Each species ovipositor varies in length enabling feeding at different depths.