Parasite Inception

Just a report of a possible hyperparisitism case, where leaf miner moth caterpillars or pupas were parasitized by this first wasp who then got parasitized by another wasp.

I've collected some leaves on several occasions that had pupa or even larva from a moth that makes mines on Schinus terebinthifolia and stored them on a plastic pot hoping to catch their adult forms.
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/163381013

Upon inspecting the pot (which contained all the leaves) I've noticed a tiny wasp walking around, which I thought was parasitizing one of the moths. So far so good, these are common findings.
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/175929969

Later, though, I noticed that there was a second wasp inside the pot under the leaves, it was dead and it had a hole in the abdomen. I think it is possible that the wasp mentioned below hatched from this dead wasp, which emerged from the pupas of the moth.
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/175928102

Some extra pics:
Dried leftover bits of the moth caterpillar

more to add

Some reading material:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperparasite
https://www.science.org/content/article/how-one-parasitic-wasp-becomes-victim-another-parasitic-wasp

Posted on 31 de julho de 2023, 02:19 PM by fmiudo