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Parasitic Wasps of Mantid
Egg clusters
Egg clusters like these can be
found all over Mequite trees in parts of Southern Arizona. Since I was
collecting in mid-summer, most of the oothecae (egg clusters) I found were
recently hatched from spring. In the desert, though, you can find mantid
oothecae from years past, as things are dried and preserved for long periods of
time. This was the only oothecae of this species, that I found, which was
unhatched. I took it home with me, and set it up in the incubator.
Three days later, I was very excited to catch a glimpse of about 2 dozen
hatchlings. But, looking more closely, I realized that these were not
mantids!!! I was quite upset to see that these were small, apparently
parasitic wasps that had apparently commandeered this ootheca. At some
time, while it was incubating on the tree, a female ichnumen-like wasp had layed
her eggs in the cells of this ootheca. Looking carefully, I noticed both
male and female wasps, the difference being the obviously-long ovipositor
(egg-laying organ) of the female individuals. Wanting to salvage the
situation, as best as possible, and grabbed the camera and tried to get a few
pics. of these 3mm cradle-bandits!




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