Do Wasps Take Ladybugs Hostage?
The wasp Dinocampus coccinellae has long been known to parasitize ladybugs. A female wasp lays her eggs on the ladybug’s body. When the larva emerges, it spins a cocoon between the ladybug’s legs. It appeared that this parasitic activity killed the ladybug host. Some ladybugs are taken hostage by wasps, but later released unharmed. Photo: Wikimedia Commons/Kaldari Not always so, according to biologist Jacques Brodeur of the Universit de Montral. In one ladybug species, Coleomegilla maculata, the beetle is eventually released unscathed. Though the presence of the wasp cocoon temporarily paralyzes the ladybug host, once the adult wasp emerges, the ladybug is free to go about its business. Source: Ladybugs Taken Hostage by Wasps, Universit de Montral, November 17, 2009. More Ways to Keep Up With Abo
