Alice Springs Fauna •

Alice Springs WaspsAbispa ephippium Agriomyia maculata Bembicinae Bethylidae Blue Hairy Flower Wasp Cryptocheilus Cryptocheilus bicolor Delta latreillei Delta philantes Eumeninae Liris (Wasp) Mud Nests and Potter Wasps Orchid Dupe Wasp Paralastor (Potter Wasp) Pison Pseudabispa bicolor ssp. nigrocinctoides Sceliphron laetum Sphex (Wasp) Thynnid Flower Wasps Velvet Ant Family (Tribe Dasymutillini) Yellow Hairy Flower Wasp (Radumeris radula) Yellow Hairy Flower Wasp (Radumeris tasmaniensis)

Orchid Dupe Wasp (Lissopimpla excelsa), also known as the Dusky-winged Ichneumonid, is a wasp of the family Ichneumonidae and is native to Australia.

The female wasp of the species hunt for prey such as caterpillars of the noctuid moth, the Cotton Bollworm (Helicoverpa armigera) and Army worms (from the genus Spodoptera sp), in which they deposit their eggs.

Pictured here is a deceased Lissopimpla excelsa found floating in a swimming pool in Alice Springs (possibly drowned after intense rainfall).

Orchid Dupe Wasp (Lissopimpla excelsa), Alice Springs NT
Orchid Dupe Wasp (Lissopimpla excelsa), Alice Springs NT
Orchid Dupe Wasp (Lissopimpla excelsa), Alice Springs NT
Orchid Dupe Wasp (Lissopimpla excelsa), Alice Springs NT
Orchid Dupe Wasp (Lissopimpla excelsa), Alice Springs NT
Orchid Dupe Wasp (Lissopimpla excelsa), Alice Springs NT
Orchid Dupe Wasp (Lissopimpla excelsa), Alice Springs NT
Orchid Dupe Wasp (Lissopimpla excelsa), Alice Springs NT
Orchid Dupe Wasp (Lissopimpla excelsa), Alice Springs NT
Orchid Dupe Wasp (Lissopimpla excelsa), Alice Springs NT
Orchid Dupe Wasp (Lissopimpla excelsa), Alice Springs NT
Orchid Dupe Wasp (Lissopimpla excelsa), Alice Springs NT
Orchid Dupe Wasp (Lissopimpla excelsa), Alice Springs NT
Orchid Dupe Wasp (Lissopimpla excelsa), Alice Springs NT

More more information see our section Fauna | Insects | Wasps | Lissopimpla excelsa (Orchid Dupe Wasp)


  • Scientific classification
  • Kingdom: Animalia
  • Phylum: Arthropoda
  • Subphylum: Hexapoda
  • Class: Insecta
  • Informal: Pterygotes
  • Order: Hymenoptera
  • Superfamily: Ichneumonoidea
  • Family: Ichneumonidae
  • Subfamily: Pimplinae
  • Genus: Lissopimpla
  • Species: Lissopimpla excelsa

Footnote & References

  1. Lissopimpla excelsa (Costa, 1864), Dusky Winged Ichneumonid (Orchid Dupe Wasp), Atlas of Living Australia, https://bie.ala.org.au/species/Lissopimpla excelsa
  2. Orchid Dupe Wasp (Lissopimpla excelsa), ausemade, iNaturalistAU, https://inaturalist.ala.org.au/observations/204258070

Alice Springs WaspsAbispa ephippium Agriomyia maculata Bembicinae Bethylidae Blue Hairy Flower Wasp Cryptocheilus Cryptocheilus bicolor Delta latreillei Delta philantes Eumeninae Liris (Wasp) Mud Nests and Potter Wasps Orchid Dupe Wasp Paralastor (Potter Wasp) Pison Pseudabispa bicolor ssp. nigrocinctoides Sceliphron laetum Sphex (Wasp) Thynnid Flower Wasps Velvet Ant Family (Tribe Dasymutillini) Yellow Hairy Flower Wasp (Radumeris radula) Yellow Hairy Flower Wasp (Radumeris tasmaniensis)

Alice Springs FaunaAlice Springs Native Bees Alice Springs Beetles Alice Springs Birds Alice Springs Gastropods (Gastropoda) Alice Springs Insects Alice Springs Marsupials Alice Springs Reptiles Alice Springs Spiders

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