Dusona sp. (genus)
A Campopleginae Parasitic Wasp at Higgins, ACT
Identify this sighting
| Dusona sp. (genus) | SimoneC | 6 Mar 2024 | |
| Campopleginae (subfamily) | AlisonMilton | 15 Jan 2024 |
Please Login or Register to identify this sighting.
User's notes
Perhaps someone has an explanation for this. I collected the caterpillars (photos 1 & 2)from a fleshy Isotoma. A few days later I noted some cocoons (photo 3) in the container, which puzzled me as I had previously hatched parasitic wasps from a similar cocoon. Sure enough, a few more days later and there were four wasps in the container (photos 4 & 5). I checked the Isotoma again and collected two more caterpillars and also two more cocoons (now a total of eight). One of these has now been moving for the past three days and I suspect a wasp will emerge. My puzzle is that I had not seen any wasps around and would find the odds of all of the caterpillars being paratisied, but even if so, why did the larvae form wasp cocoons rather than moth cocoons if they were moth larvae?
1 comment
6 Mar 2024
The wasps develop inside the caterpillar carefully not killing it until they are ready to form their cocoons, they then break out of the caterpillar and spin their cocoon
Location information
- Coordinates 149.029628-35.238073
- Altitude 612.1m
- Places Higgins, ACT
Sighting information
- 4 - 15 Abundance
- 5 Jan 2024 02:09 PM Recorded on
- AlisonMilton Recorded by
- Isotoma Associated plant
- 12mm to 25mm Animal size
- Alive / healthy Animal health
Collections
- Insects Parasitic wasps (numerous families) Wasps (Hymenoptera, Apocrita) AlisonMilton Canberra & Southern Tablelands NatureMapr Dusona sp. (genus)
Species information
- Dusona sp. (genus) Scientific name
- A Campopleginae Parasitic Wasp Common name
- Not Sensitive
- Local native
- Non-invasive or negligible
- Up to 655.7m Recorded at altitude
- External link More information
-
Synonyms
Delopia sp. (genus)
Record quality
Quality score
6 / 7
- Images or audio
- More than one media file
- Verified by an expert moderator
- GPS evidence of location
- Description
- Additional attributes
- Nearby sighting(s) of same species