Adrian Jones' photos with the keyword: Dinocampus coccinellae

I found several more ladybirds today that had played host to larvae of the parasitic wasp Dinocampus coccinellae, here a ladybird, that is still alive, sits on the cocoon of the wasp, the larva of which fed inside the ladybird until mature. The larva spins its cocoon under the unfortunate ladybird, the ladybird providing cover and shelter for the parasites coccon until the wasp hatches and the cycle begins once again. Natural light and uncropped.

Happened across this unfortunate Ladybird in the garden this morning just as a parasitic Braconid Wasp larva was emerging from its host. Amazingly the ladybird managed to walk away just after I took this shot and was still alive several hours later. Its not the best of images, the Braconid larva was spinning its cocoon quickly and it was breezy so there is some motion blur in the image and I didn't have time to rig up my flash to get a sharper shot. Natural light and uncropped.