Spotted Tortoise Beetle

I know virtually nothing about parasitoid wasps - perhaps there's someone else here who can comment?

A fantastic looking beetle. Wasps form an interesting picture - trying to work their way in. Do parasitoids also attack dead or dying creatures ?.

Great spotting Kate ! and might I thank MichaelGeiser for the input (on your spotting)?

I usually prefer to use the scientific names, common names are so unreliable!

Ok, I didn't know that somebody came up with a common name for this species. I still prefer to call it Conchyloctenia tripuncticollis (even though that's an awfully long name!), because the name "spotted tortoised beete" has already been used for a common Asian species (Aspidimorpha miliaris) and probably a number of other tortoise beetles. Since there are thousands of cassidine species with spots, this name is a bit unspecific. But it might be useful within South Africa.

... or perhaps dying ... it did move between photos.

It's definitely possible that it was dead - it let me take photos without flying off!

It appears there IS an english common name for this one ...

Spotted tortoise beetle (Conchyloctenia tripuncticollis)

http://www.ispotnature.org/node/495206

I wonder if this beetle was already dead... Six parasitoid wasps trampling on a beetle's head and elytra usually mean nothing good (for the beetle, a hymenopterist would love that kind of scene).

Thanks for the ID, Michael!