Jul 24, 2009

Aphid Killer

Moneca sent us a video to follow up on our fire ant killing phorid fly.

Here's a black wasp, who turns out to be quite adept at controlling aphid colonies. Watch her as she injects eggs into as many as 200 individual aphids with surgical precision. Watch the waspling grow, kill the aphid, and emerge.

Thanks, Moneca.

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5 comments:

  1. Joe LappJuly 29, 2009

    Oops, that should read, "to follow up on our fire ant killing phorid FLY."

    ReplyDelete
  2. Raging WombatJuly 29, 2009

    Thanks, Joe. I fixed it.

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousJuly 29, 2009

    Gross, gross, gross...Yay! It is always twisted fun to read your site.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Keera Ann FoxJuly 30, 2009

    What I found most interesting is that the wasp young do not have a larval and pupa stage, nor appear to be a nymph, like most insects. It looked like winged adult as it emerged from the aphid it was hatched in.

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  5. alexJuly 31, 2009

    I guess it would be something along the lines of Encarsia Formosa, a parisitic wasp, mainly used for biological control in greenhouse environments. Very efficient, i've seen them used with great success in the Eden project.

    ReplyDelete

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