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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Ants, Bees, Wasps and Sawflies (Hymenoptera) » Aculeata - Ants, Bees and Stinging Wasps » Cuckoo Wasps & allies (Chrysidoidea) » Pincer Wasps (Dryinidae) » Larvae of Dryinidae
Photo#1180204
Leafhopper nymph with leech?
Copyright © 2016 Susan Leach Snyder

Leafhopper nymph with leech?
Naples, Collier County, Florida, USA
December 30, 2015
Size: see remarks below
This leafhopper nymph was captured in a sweep net sample obtained in a twisted mound of muscadine grape vines standing 3 feet high in a sandy scrub. The nymph is 1.5 mm long. Attached to it is what appears to be a .75 mm curled leech. I've never seen anything like this before and would like an expert to determine if this is indeed a leech. I have read that there are terrestrial leeches that are carnivorous, have toothless mouths, and swallow worms and insect larvae whole. If this is a leech, it appears to be in the process of feeding, but it doesn't appear that it would be able to swallow whole a leafhopper that is twice its size.

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Leafhopper nymph with leech? Leafhopper nymph with leech? Leafhopper nymph with leech? Leafhopper nymph with leech?
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Contributed by Susan Leach Snyder on 7 January, 2016 - 1:15pm
Last updated 7 January, 2016 - 2:24pm

Moved
Moved from ID Request.
… Brad Barnd, 7 January, 2016 - 2:24pm login or register to post comments

Parasitoid
It's a dryinid wasp larva.
… Charley Eiseman, 7 January, 2016 - 1:53pm login or register to post comments

 
FYI…
Female dryinid wasps inject eggs into the host using a sharp ovipositor, and the larva spends its early stages feeding internally on the host. As the larva grows, it starts to protrude from the abdomen of the host and develops this hardened sac-like "case" to protect its vulnerable body while continuing to feed on the host, which is eventually killed.

See reference here.
… Ross Hill, 7 January, 2016 - 2:12pm login or register to post comments

 
Wow!
Thanks so much for the identification and the information!
… Susan Leach Snyder, 7 January, 2016 - 4:02pm login or register to post comments

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