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Kōrero: Wasps and bees

Wasp larvae emerging from caterpillar

Image
Wasp larvae emerging from caterpillar

Parasitic wasp larvae (Apanteles glomeratus) emerge from inside a white butterfly caterpillar. Some have begun to spin their cocoon alongside the dying caterpillar. This parasitic wasp species was introduced to reduce the numbers of white butterfly, a pest of cabbages and other brassica crops.

Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi

Natural Sciences Image Library of New Zealand

Reference: Bc0033smt.tif

by Peter E. Smith

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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/11145/wasp-larvae-emerging-from-caterpillar (accessed 4 June 2026).

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