any of various large wasplike insects of the hymenopterous family Siricidae, the females of which have a strong stout ovipositor and lay their eggs in the wood of felled trees
Also called: wood wasp
horntail in American English
(ˈhɔrnˌteɪl)
noun
any of a family (Siricidae) of hymenopteran insects, whose adult female has a horny, taillike extension for depositing eggs in tree trunks, in which the larvae burrow