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Podagrion sp
One of the smallest parasitic wasps. Only about 2mm in size.Bright iridescent green color. Hitch hikes on adult female mantis and lays it's eggs using the long ovipositor on the fresh frothy mantis ootheca before it hardens. The larvae that emerge eats the mantis eggs, pupates and emerge as adult wasps.
Here one is seen emerging out of an ant mimic mantis ootheca. This was shot from an orange tree from my garden.
Spotted on May 2, 2019
Submitted on May 2, 2019
17 Comments
Thank you triggsturner..
Your macro work is incredible Sunny. Lovely images, thank you for sharing these.
Thank you Liana..
A belated congratulations for SOTD! Awesome images Sunny! How do you get such sharp macro? Thank you for sharing :) Liana
Thank you Lauren and Mark..
Magic SJ ! Great shots.
Congratulations Sunnyjosef! Beautiful pictures.
Thank you Tukup..
Incredible spotting sunnyjosef, and great write-up. Congratulations on your well-deserved SOTD.
Thank you Daniele and team ProjecNoah for this honour..!
Thank you swain4..
You never need to go very far to bring us fantastic spottings sunnyjosef! This one is also perfect for our "2019 Best Wildlife Photo - Species Interactions Special" mission. Congratulations, it is our Spotting of the Day:
"Fantastic green metallic color on this chalcid wasp (Podagrion sp.), our Spotting of the Day! Chalcid wasps (superfamily Chalcidoidea) are mostly parasitoids of other insects, attacking the egg or larval stage of their host. The species shown here lays its eggs (using its long ovipositor) on fresh frothy mantis oothecae (egg cases) before they harden. The larvae that emerge eat the mantis eggs, pupate and emerge as adult wasps. Check out the spotting for more images!
Spotted in Kerala, India, by sunnyjosef. https://buff.ly/2VRY3ut
Sunnyjosej captured this entire series from an orange tree from his garden. His collection on Project Noah is full of spottings simply made on his terrace garden or apartment building. See his collection here: https://buff.ly/2DOQXwH "
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Wooooowwwwww
Thank you Sukanya..
Such intricate details that can be seen in the shot! Wonderful.
Thank you Lewis..
Beautiful shot!