Identification, Images, & Information
For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin
For the United States & Canada
Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Ants, Bees, Wasps and Sawflies (Hymenoptera) » "Parasitica" - Parasitoid Wasps » Braconid and Ichneumonid Wasps (Ichneumonoidea) » Braconid Wasps (Braconidae)
Photo#2450405
Cotton Ball
Copyright © 2025 leealloway

Cotton Ball
Culpeper, Culpeper County, Virginia, USA
May 1, 2025
Size: 22 mm
Looks like a cotton ball on a blade of grass. Does not deform when touched. Backlighting suggests a caterpillar inside.

Images of this individual: tag all
Cotton Ball Cotton Ball Cotton Ball Cotton Ball
Contributed by leealloway on 1 May, 2025 - 8:22pm
Last updated 9 May, 2025 - 10:19pm

Moved
Moved from ID Request.
… Ken Wolgemuth, 9 May, 2025 - 10:19pm

Possibly . . .
a Braconid wasp cocoon mass. Something similar to: https://bugguide.net/node/view/2034576

* Pending expert confirmation or correction.
… L. Wayne Thompson, 2 May, 2025 - 8:35am

 
Egg Mass
Updated with picture of the emergent wasp (one of 50-ish). About 2 mm.
… leealloway, 9 May, 2025 - 8:18pm

Disclaimer: Dedicated naturalists volunteer their time and resources here to provide this service. We strive to provide accurate information, but we are mostly just amateurs attempting to make sense of a diverse natural world. If you need expert professional advice, contact your local extension office.

Contributors own the copyright to and are solely responsible for contributed content.
Click the contributor's name for licensing and usage information.
Everything else copyright © 2003-2025 Iowa State University, unless otherwise noted.

Bugguide is hosted by:

Plant Pathology, Entomology and Microbiology at Iowa State University logo