Ichneumonid wasp - parasitoid of "swallowtail butterfly" swallowtail caterpillars. See description for image # of host.

---

Ichneumonid wasps are parasitoids. A parasitoid differs from a parasite in that it eventually kills its host. The wasps lay an egg in a caterpillar. The developing wasp larva then feeds on the caterpillar host. Eventually, as seen in the spicebush swallowtail chrysalis photos by Martin Shields AHYJJ4 and AHYJK2 showing the wasp exit hole, the larval wasp matures and leaves the chrysalis of the caterpillar that it has devoured.

---

Size: 5266px × 3525px
Photo credit: © Martin Shields / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: adaptation, hymenoptera, ichneumonid, ichneumonidae, insect, life-cycle, parasite, parasitic, parasitism, parasitoid, predator, predatory, reproduction, reproductive, strategy, wasp