A Campopleginae Parasitic Wasp at Higgins, ACT
Identification history
| Dusona sp. (genus) | 6 Mar 2024 | SimoneC | ||
| Campopleginae (subfamily) | 15 Jan 2024 | AlisonMilton |
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User's notes
Perhaps someone has an explanation for this. I collected the caterpillars (photos 1 & 2)from a fleshy Isotoma. A few days later I noted some cocoons (photo 3) in the container, which puzzled me as I had previously hatched parasitic wasps from a similar cocoon. Sure enough, a few more days later and there were four wasps in the container (photos 4 & 5). I checked the Isotoma again and collected two more caterpillars and also two more cocoons (now a total of eight). One of these has now been moving for the past three days and I suspect a wasp will emerge. My puzzle is that I had not seen any wasps around and would find the odds of all of the caterpillars being paratisied, but even if so, why did the larvae form wasp cocoons rather than moth cocoons if they were moth larvae?
1 comment
SimoneC
wrote:
6 Mar 2024
The wasps develop inside the caterpillar carefully not killing it until they are ready to form their cocoons, they then break out of the caterpillar and spin their cocoon
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Nearby sightings
Location information
- Coordinates 149.029628-35.238073
- Altitude 612.1m
- Places Higgins, ACT
Sighting information
- 4 - 15 Abundance
- 5 Jan 2024 02:09 PM Recorded on
- AlisonMilton Recorded by
Additional information
- Isotoma Associated plant
- 12mm to 25mm Animal size
- Alive / healthy Animal health
Species information
- Dusona sp. (genus) Scientific name
- A Campopleginae Parasitic Wasp Common name
- Not Sensitive
- Local native
- Non-Invasive
- Up to 655.7m Recorded at altitude
- Machine learning
- External link More information
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Synonyms
Delopia sp. (genus)
Record quality
- Images or audio
- More than one media file
- Verified by an expert moderator
- Nearby sighting(s) of same species
- GPS evidence of location
- Description
- Additional attributes
