An alien-looking parasite found in Ontario can be distinguished by its scorpion-like tail, but this appendage does something much more horrifying than giving a painful sting.

The American pelecinid wasp (Pelecinus polyturator) looks like something ripped from an alien sci-fi flick, though these scary-looking but very helpful insects can be found in a range spanning much of the western hemisphere, including right here in Ontario.

Over 1,700 sightings have been reported in Ontario on nature observation platform iNaturalist, covering a range extending from the province's southern borders to as far north as the Sudbury area.

A recent Reddit post to the insect identification group r/whatisthisbug asks, "who is he?" The user based in Renfrew, Ontario, included a picture of a pelecinid wasp and added, "he looks like an evil dragonfly."

who is he
byu/bnanabread23 inwhatsthisbug

It turns out that this "he" is actually a "she," as many populations of the species are parthenogenic, meaning that females do not require male fertilization to reproduce.

Females are distinguished by their long glossy abdominal metasoma, or tail, which strongly resembles a stinger found on other fear-inducing creepy crawlies like scorpions.

Males are actually quite rare in pelecinid wasp populations in Ontario, and are typically more commonly encountered in southern climates. They are also harder to spot, lacking the characteristic coiled abdomen that identifies females of the species.

And it's what the female wasps do with that "tail" that is truly upsetting.

This appendage may seem like a stinger, and while these wasps will never use them to stab an unsuspecting human, their intended use as an ovipositor is somehow far worse. Females probe soil using this elongated abdomen and deposit their eggs on the backs or sometimes even inside grubs — specifically June beetle larvae.

When the hitchhiking wasp eggs finally hatch, the larvae proceed to burrow into the defenceless grub and consume it from within, which I'm assuming is not a fun time for the grub.

It may be horrifying, but the species is beneficial for local ecosystems, landing it in the do-not-squish category of scary-looking critters.