Yellow insect eggs on dock

Moved

… Charley Eiseman, 21 September, 2011 - 11:16am

Moved

… Harsi S. Parker, 23 September, 2009 - 3:39pm

Not eggs

These are cocoons of braconid wasps, the larvae of which are internal parasitoids of caterpillars. The cocoons of Cotesia glomerata (a common parasitoid of cabbage white caterpillars) are similar to these, but I'm not positive on the species.

… Charley Eiseman, 18 August, 2009 - 7:59pm

yellow insect eggs

Thank you. Interesting. So these aren't eggs at all, but are rather cocoons of parasitic wasps. Am I to infer,then, that there was a parasitized caterpillar nearby in which these guys fed during their larval stage?

… Cynthia Abbott, 18 August, 2009 - 8:13pm

Correct.

Sometimes the remains of a parasitized caterpillar are stuck to the leaf nearby, or even perched on top of the cocoons, but in this case it probably dropped to the ground after the larvae emerged to pupate.

… Charley Eiseman, 18 August, 2009 - 8:22pm

I'll look for it....

...in the morning. I'm interested to see what sort of caterpillar it was, if the remains are a) findable, and b)identifiable. Thanks so much for your help!

… Cynthia Abbott, 18 August, 2009 - 9:43pm