Braconid Wasp
Tobacco Hornworm and parasites in Maynard
September 12, 2017

Jodi Beebe photographed this tobacco hornworm (the caterpillar of the Carolina sphinx moth) with braconid wasp cocoons. The wasp, a parasitoid to hornworms, lays its eggs just under the skin of the caterpillar. After larvae emerge from the body of the caterpillar, they spin these coccoons in which they will transform into adult wasps.