Peculiar Parasitoids

Fascinating yet rather repulsive are the parasitoids I am studying. Yesterday, whilst picking my way through rotten kawakawa leaves and caterpillar frass (poo) I came across this one sick looking caterpillar. It was floundering around, still alive at the bottom of the pot next to a wasp cocoon. This indicated to me that this caterpillar had previously been injected with wasp eggs, the eggs had hatched out inside the caterpillars body, where the wasp larvae proceeded to eat the caterpillars internal organs and then burst out of it's side to go into pupation. Shockingly this half eaten caterpillar had enough of its vital organs remaining to enable it to carry on living. A behaviour that's rather typical amongst parasitoid species. Amazing.



Anyhow, I thought I'd put up a shot to show you the evidence, the black hole near the rear is where the parasitoid emerged and the wiry ovoid is the wasp pupae.