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Coleomegilla maculata (wasp-Dinocampus coccinellae)
The beetle is alive and attached to the cocoon beneath it, but will soon die. I collected it and hope to see what wasp emerges.
Spotted on Jun 20, 2013
Submitted on Jun 23, 2013
1 Comment
Congratulations Tom! Your spotting has been chosen for Project Noah Fact of the Day: "There are many ways that parasites can take control of their host. The latest scenario unraveled by science is bound to horrify many: “Wasp uses virus to take control of ladybug”!
The wasp, a species known as Dinocampus coccinellae, lays an egg inside a ladybug. From this egg a larva develops, which then crawls out of its host and spins a cocoon around itself. In what is known as “bodyguard behavior” – and which can be seen in the image below – the still alive but paralyzed ladybug stands guard over the cocoon, protecting it until the adult wasp safely emerges.
Just exactly how this was achieved was an open question until recent research showed that the wasp injects the ladybug with a virus which targets its nervous system. The virus accumulates in the ladybug’s brain, and seemingly induces paralysis. Whether the ladybug recovers or not seems to depend on the extent of the damage caused by the larva and the virus.
http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/scienc...
Spotted Lady Beetle (Coleomegilla maculata) guarding cocoon of parasitoid wasp Dinocampus coccinellae, spotted in Massachusetts, USA by Project Noah user Tom15"
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