Shieldbug and passenger by jesika2

Shieldbug and passenger

Hawthorne Shieldbug with the egg of a parasitic fly/wasp on its back. I didn't notice it, took better eyes than mine.
My York garden.
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Beautiful colors and super-sharp focus. Yeah, photographing bugs for this project over the years opened my eyes to the parasitic relationships in the bug world!
October 9th, 2019  
Lovely capture
October 10th, 2019  
How interesting
October 15th, 2019  
@rhoing If you can find it - and have a strong stomach - Denim & Tweed have a video of the insides of a Large White caterpillar which has been parasitised by Cotesia Glomerata...
Often the parasite has a parasite, that makes for REALLY interesting relationships!
Thanks for commenting.
j
October 16th, 2019  
@ziggy77 @shepherdmanswife Thank you both. The Shieldbug had been trapped in a spide web & because it was still "unwrapped" I rescued it, hence the bent antenna. I don't know what the parasite is neither do I know how it will affect its host.
j
October 16th, 2019  
Wonderful photo and really interesting to think about what the parasite might be. Parasites are fascinating despite the almost instinctive shudder of repellence!
November 4th, 2019  
@julienne1 I agree, some "hitch hike" like Trombidium Breei which I find mostly on Marbled White but others such as Cotesia Glomerata (Large & Small White) & Sturmia Bella (Tortoiseshell) are the stuff of which nightmares are made.
j
November 4th, 2019  
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