Parasitoids

Synopsis

Some highlights from the parasitoid fauna encountered during the survey. I am populating this page gradually as I sort through my photos.

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From Endothenia in figwort.

I reared these wasps from overwintered dead stems of Scrophularia (figwort) tunneled by Endothenia cf. hebesana (Tortricidae; 0499). I assume (but didn't confirm) that they were parasitoids of the Endothenia larvae, since there were no other endophagous insects in the stems big enough to produce them.

long slender wasp with bold red and black color pattern, and transparent wings outlined in black with a triangular black cell — Image #: 1-01 Several views of an adult wasp reared from a *Scrophularia* stem.

slender orange and black wasp resting with very long orange legs outstretched — Image #: 1-02 Dorsal view, wasp from *Scrophularia* stem.

orange wasp with smokey gray wings and exceptionally long narrow ovipositor — Image #: 1-03 Additional views of a wasp from a figwort stem.

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Other wasps with lepidopteran hosts.

In the upper left panel of image 2-02, the parasitoid larva is shown overwintering in the dead Bidens stem with the host larva's head capsule nearby.

Image #: 2-01 Reared from a cocoon of *Pseudopostega* sp. (Opostegidae) from *Blephilia*. (0097)

Image #: 2-03 Cocoon of *Pseudopostega* sp. from *Mentha*, with one of two parasitoid wasps that emerged from it. Note the parasitoid's emergence hole in the cocoon. (0639)

yellow grublike legless wasp larva with rounded, patterned head and black adult wasp with long slender abdomen — Image #: 2-02 Parasitoid of tortricid borer (0096) in *Bidens*. The larva and adult are the same individual. (details)

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Wasps with dipteran hosts.

I have reared many parasitoids from puparia of Ophiomyia spp., Melanagromyza spp., and other stem-tunneling flies, and am adding a few highlights here as time allows.

Image #: 4-01 Wasps reared from puparia of agromyzid stem borer in *Sanicula*. (0490)

Image #: 4-02 Wingless wasp reared from puparium of agromyzid stem borer in *Sanicula*. (0490)

Image #: 4-03 Wasp from *Ophiomyia* puparium on *Zizia*. (0616)

Image #: 4-04 Wasp from parasitized tephritid (cf. *Strauzia*) puparium found in stem of *Ageratina*. (0029)

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Parasitoid flies.

I haven't encountered very many examples of these. Images 3-01 and 3-02 show an apparent Papaipema borer larva, killed by a parasitoid fly, which emerged from the carcass of the caterpillar when it was done feeding and formed its puparium in the stem tunnel nearby.

Image #: 3-01 *Papaipema* carcass and puparium of parasitoid fly in stem of *Polymnia canadensis*. (0404)

Image #: 3-02 Puparium of parasitoid fly next to *Papaipema* carcass in *Polymnia* stem. (0404)

Page created: March 30, 2026. Last update: March 31, 2026