ichneumon wasp

noun

variants or less commonly ichneumon fly

: any of a large family (Ichneumonidae) of brown or black hymenopterous insects that have a slender body and long ovipositor and whose larvae are parasites of the larvae and pupae of various insects

Word History

First Known Use

1671, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

ichneumon wasp

noun

ich·​neu·​mon wasp

ik-ˈn(y)ü-mən-

: any of a large group of insects that are related to wasps and whose larvae are usually parasites inside the bodies of other insect larvae

called also ichneumon fly