Saturday, 28 May 2011

Ichneumon pupa ex Dun-bar larva





I have been rearing a caterpillar of the Dun-bar (Cosmia trapezina) found on Beech at Hawksworth wood on 14th May 2011.



Yesterday, I looked inside its container to find that the caterpillar's innards are now contained within the pupa of an ichneumon wasp. Mark Shaw has since identified this for me as Scirtetes robustus.



It will be fascinating to see what the resultant parasitoid imago looks like.
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3 comments:

  1. Anonymous28 May 2011 at 15:30

    Didn`t know they pupated in that way, Derek. Fascinating stuff, indeed.

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  2. rusticus29 May 2011 at 14:44

    Hi Dean

    I'll let you know what emerges!

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  3. rusticus31 May 2011 at 13:29

    This from Mark Shaw:

    It is Scirtetes robusta (Ich: Campopleginae) [used to be called Spudastica kriechbaumeri] - common ex this and also several Orthosia spp. It should hatch next spring if you keep it in a cool and not too dry place meantime.

    All the best,
    Mark

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