Reserva Ecológica Costanera Sur

Sitio realizado por aficionados a la observación de aves desde 10 de enero 2006

Ichneumon wasps - Family Ichneumonidae



Orden Hymenoptera
Familia Ichneumonidae
Parasitoid wasps are characterized by the fact that they do not build a nest to keep the eggs but they use another organism (a host) which will not only keep the eggs but it will be fed upon by the larvae after hatching. Larvae literally consume the host. For this reason- causing the host's death- they are parasitoids and not parasites.The wasp detects the host in two phases. First, it looks for the environment, the plant, and then for the host in the plant. They can follow chemical traces emitted by the plants and/or the hosts. They can also use visual or tactile stimuli. Once the host is located, the wasp deposits the eggs inside (the larvae will be endoparasitoids), on or near the host (ectoparasitoids). Ectoparasitoid larvae cut the cuticle of the caterpillar to feed. At the beginning they cause little damage to the caterpillar. But at the end of this phase when they kill the host. Then they pupate. Some wasps may lay only one egg on the host whereas others may lay many.These parasitoids are studied as natural biocontrol since they can eliminate a pest causing no harm on the crops.
The Ichneumonidae mainly parasitize holometabolous insects such as lepidopterans, dipterans or coleopterans, though several species attack spiders and their eggs. Some others are hyperparasitoids, that is, they parasitize a parasitoid
Ichneumon wasp
21-10-17 © Alfredo Sabaliauskas
Lappet moth
27-04-13 © Cora Rimoldi

Ignacio discovered this caterpillar on a trunk of Sapium haematospermum when we got near it looking for a bird. The caterpillar passes unnoticed but the contrasting white coulour of the eggs, which practically "adorned" the whole of it, called our attention. These are ichneumonid wasps eggs


Predated by
Tropical Kingbird
05-01-12 © J. Simón Tagtachian
Tropical kingbrid Tyrannus melancholicus