In this quick tutorial you'll learn how to draw an Ichneumon Wasp in 7 easy steps - great for kids and novice artists.
The images above represent how your finished drawing is going to look and the steps involved.
Below are the individual steps - you can click on each one for a High Resolution printable PDF version.
At the bottom you can read some interesting facts about the Ichneumon Wasp.
Make sure you also check out any of the hundreds of drawing tutorials grouped by category.
How to Draw an Ichneumon Wasp - Step-by-Step Tutorial
Step 1: First, draw the head. It looks like a crooked "C" with the open side to the right.
Step 2: From the middle of the long line of the head draw two very long lines that curve slightly out at the tips. These are the antenna
Step 3: Draw the oval-shaped body. It starts between the back of the head lines and extends the same length as the antennae. Inside the body is a curvy, bumpy line that starts at the top and goes all the way to the end of the body.
Step 4: Just behind the head draw two long thin front legs. They are about half the length of the antennae. There is a small "V" at the very tips of the legs.
Step 5: Now draw the two hind legs on each side of the body. The left legs start a third of the way down the body. They are very thin and very long. They point down. The hind legs on the right side of the body are just as thin as the bottom side. The middle leg is very bent.
Step 6: At the left tip of the end of the body draw a very small bump to make the tail.
Step 7: Finally, draw various lines along the body to make the body patterns.
Interesting Facts about the Ichneumon Wasp (Ophion luteus):
The Icheumon Wasp is a member of the largest family of insects in the world, Ichneumonidae. There are over 60,000 different species of this kind of wasp. Ichneumon wasps have a long and slender body that is yellow or orange in color. They appear to have a waist that dips in, just before their long abdomen curves outwards, and are typically 20 millimeters in length.
Did you know?
- Icheumon Wasps are most active at night.
- In the space of one year, two generations of Icheumon Wasps are produced.
- Icheumon Wasps of the Ophion genus can live in many different habitats, but are found most often on farms and in forests.
- The Icheumon Wasp is such a common species that there are no conservations efforts being made to protect it.
- Icheumon Wasps are sometimes called Icheumon Flies, but are not actually true flies.
The Icheumon Wasp is a parasite that lays its eggs inside the larvae of moths and butterflies. The wasp larvae eat the insides of the butterfly or moth larvae and thus kill it, to later emerge from the dead host’s shell of a body. The scientific word for this type of parasite (one that kills its host) is parasitoid.
How to Draw an Ichneumon Wasp – Step-by-Step Tutorial