Tag: parasitic wasp

• Question of the Week – Parasitic Wasp Pupae

  

  This week, the question was: What is the white-colored stuff on this beet leaf? This is a cluster of parasitic wasp pupae. The adult wasp would have laid eggs into a caterpillar to provide food for the developing larvae. The larvae develop inside the caterpillar and then exit it to pupate, usually killing it in…

  Justin Ballew

  May 25, 2023

  Question of the Week

  beneficial insect, natural enemy, parasitic wasp, pupae, Question of the Week

• Question of the Week – Parasitic Wasp Cocoon

  

  This week, the question was: What is this brown oval object on the underside of this napa cabbage leaf? This is the cocoon of a parasitic wasp (Microplitis plutellae) that attacks and kills diamondback moth larvae. This wasp will lay an egg inside of the caterpillar, where the wasp larva feeds before emerging from the…

  Justin Ballew

  May 11, 2023

  Question of the Week

  beneficial insect, parasitic wasp, parasitoid, Question of the Week

• Question of the Week – Parasitoid Wasp

  

  This week, the question was: What happened to this aphid? This aphid has been parasitized by a tiny parasitoid wasp. Parasitoid wasps lay eggs in a host, like this aphid. As the egg hatches and the larva develops, it causes the aphid to swell, making it appear bloated. When the larva matures, it bores out…

  Justin Ballew

  April 13, 2023

  Question of the Week

  aphid, beneficial insect, parasitic wasp, parasitoid, Question of the Week

• Question of the Week – Parasitoid Wasp

  

  This week, the question was: Why is there a hole in the rear of this bloated-looking aphid? This aphid was parasitized by a tiny parasitic wasp. An egg was laid in the aphid by an adult female wasp using its ovipositor (stinger). Once the egg hatched, the wasp larva developed within the aphid, feeding on…

  Justin Ballew

  March 3, 2022

  Question of the Week

  aphid, parasitic wasp, parasitoid, Question of the Week