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Project Noah Nature School
Coleomegilla maculata / Dinocampus coccinellae
Dinocampus coccinellae is a common parasitic wasp of the spotted lady beetle Coleomegilla maculata. Females deposit a single egg in the abdomen of their host, the ladybug, and during larval development (around twenty days) the parasite feeds on the host's tissues. Then, the wasp larva breaks out through the ladybug's abdomen, without killing it, and begins spinning a cocoon between the ladybug's legs. The ladybug, partially paralyzed, is forced to stand guard over the cocoon. The novel manipulation strategy is intriguing in several ways: whereas the immense majority of parasitic wasps kill their host while they grow, the ladybug parasited by D. coccinellae remains alive. In addition, the behavioral manipulation occurs once the larva has left its host. The wasp larva grows by using the resources of its host. However, these resources must remain sufficient for the ladybug, since it cannot feed itself while guarding the cocoon.
Semi rural
Spotting #3,500
Spotted on Jul 12, 2013
Submitted on Jul 12, 2013
21 Comments
Thank you tangke!
Wow that is awesome
Thanks Joshua!
Awesome congratulations :)
Three days on & she is still there & still alive. I can't help but feel sorry for her. Further photo added from yesterday (07/12/2013).
Thanks Kranti!
Congrats Karen ! Its amazing u have 3500 species ...Stay blessed :)
Thank you Jacob & Kathleen!
Wow! Absolutely spectacular! Congratulations on an amazing 3,500th spotting!
Amazing spotting and congrats on 3,500! Crazy!!
Thanks Agnes!
Congrats Karen! Wow 3,500!!
Keith, that is awesome! I couldn't work out what the "prey" was & your link makes perfect sense! I'm really excited to find such an interesting spotting to mark 3,500!
Thank you everyone for your kind comments!
Great link Keith.
Grats on 3500, but are you sure the Lady Beetle is the predator here? I think you may have something much more interesting going on.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/201...
3.5K !! Congrats... you may have 10 minutes rest now.
Congratulations Karen..what a pretty fellow :)
Congrats KarenL..
Lovely spotting! Congrats on spotting # 3,500!
Fantastic !!!
Congrats on 3,500 beautiful spottings, Karen! Such an amazing achievement, and such a pretty insect to do it with :)