Image Number K5108-16

A female Catolaccus grandis wasp homes in on a boll weevil larva. This 3/8 inch parasitic wasp, a native of Mexico, inserts her ovipositor through the plastic film covering the individual rearing cell and immobilizes the larva. From the larva she withdraws nourishment sufficient to complete development of her eggs. Later, she or another female will revisit the boll weevil larva and deposit an egg next to it. The larva soon becomes an easy meal for a newly-hatched wasp larva.

Photo by Scott Bauer.

640 pixels wide: (k5108-16.jpg)