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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) » Microgastrinae » Cotesia
Photo#275913
Cocoons. Lucky me! - Cotesia
Copyright © 2009 Beatriz Moisset

Cocoons. Lucky me! - Cotesia
Pennypack Restoration Trust, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, USA
May 16, 2009
Size: +/- 2mm.
No matter how long I chilled them, they kept moving. Freezing them for less than a minute didn't help either. So, unfortunately I overdid it. If I get a better photo I will replace this.
5.17.09, I got a better one.

Update, 2/20/10: I think that the plant is Tradescantia virginiana; only two species of Lepidoptera are listed using this plant in HOSTS, one Noctuidae and one Sphingidae: Spodoptera dolichos and Darapsa choerilus. Maybe this will help in narrowing down the species of the parasitic wasp.

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Cluster of little cocoons? - Cotesia Cocoons. Lucky me! - Cotesia Cocoons. Lucky me! - Cotesia
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Contributed by Beatriz Moisset on 16 May, 2009 - 11:12am
Last updated 28 February, 2019 - 10:11am

Thanks again
Moved from Braconid Wasps.
Another Cotesia? How did the cocoons end up on a leaf? I thought that they would cling to the host, but I have a lot to learn.
… Beatriz Moisset, 26 August, 2009 - 12:21pm login or register to post comments

Microgastrinae: Cotesia…
The distinctive antennae (32 apparent, but 16 actual flagellomeres), coloration, and wing venation ID this subfamily. The wrinkled propodeum IDs the genus.

See reference here.
… Ross Hill, 26 August, 2009 - 11:12am login or register to post comments

Braconidae
Some braconids pupate gregariously in conspicuous cocoons around the carcass of their host.
… Matthias Buck, 16 May, 2009 - 4:17pm login or register to post comments

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