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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Ants, Bees, Wasps and Sawflies (Hymenoptera) » parasitic Apocrita » Chalcid Wasps (Chalcidoidea) » Aphelinidae
Photo#11352
Parasitic Wasp
Copyright © 2004 Troy Bartlett

Parasitic Wasp
Duluth, Gwinnett County, Georgia, USA
September 3, 2004
What do you make of this?

I was taking pictures of the caterpillar when I noticed the little wasp. It didn't seem to be concerned about me so I decided to try and get some get closeup shots of the wasp itself.

Only later while looking at the images did I notice all the little grublike things in the creases of the caterpillar's abdomen. There's a bunch visible to the right in this photo, but there's more in the crease just to the right of the wasp's abdomen. I have a hard time believing all those came from that little wasp, at least in the time I was watching it. So what are those things and what's the role of the wasp here? I know some tiny wasps are hyperparasitoids, so maybe it was after the parasites?

Images of this individual: tag all
Parasitic Wasp Parasitic Wasp Caterpillar with parasitic wasp
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Contributed by Troy Bartlett on 13 February, 2005 - 11:38pm
Last updated 22 March, 2005 - 6:50pm

amazing
Are they eggs or larva? Are the white ones different from the golden ones? Are the golden ones the openings of the spiracles? We can't wait for the answer on this one! Reminds us of Stephen's
… john and jane balaban, 14 February, 2005 - 7:40pm login or register to post comments

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