Parasitised garden tiger caterpillar (Arctia caja) Science Image

Ref: parasitised2a



Parasitised garden tiger caterpillar (Arctia caja). The caterpillar is covered in the cocoons of parasitic braconid wasp larvae. Braconid wasps parasitise caterpillars and sometimes the larvae of other insects. The wasp lays its eggs inside the caterpillar, using its long ovipositor, and the larvae begin to eat the still- living caterpillar from within. Once the larvae are fully grown, they leave the body of the host and begin to spin their cocoons on the surface of the dying caterpillar.