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Kōrero: Wasps and bees

Caterpillar with wasp larvae

Image
Caterpillar with wasp larvae

This pupating green looper caterpillar (Chrysodeixis eriosoma) is bulging with parasitic Copidosoma wasp larvae that hatched from a single egg laid in the egg of the host. By now the larvae have consumed the caterpillar’s internal organs, leaving only the outer skin.

Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi

Natural Sciences Image Library of New Zealand

Reference: Bc0030smt.tif

by Peter E. Smith

This item has been provided for private study purposes (such as school projects, family and local history research) and any published reproduction (print or electronic) may infringe copyright law. It is the responsibility of the user of any material to obtain clearance from the copyright holder.

Ngā whakaahua me ngā rauemi katoa o tēnei kōrero

Me pēnei te tohu i te whārang

John Early, Wasps and bees – Parasitic wasps, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/mi/photograph/11144/caterpillar-with-wasp-larvae (accessed 4 June 2026).

He kōrero nā John Early, i tāngia i te 1 March 2009.