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.
081019TZ200081019
Doggie mummy living in ancient York, Yorkshire, England.
Joined 1st Jan 2018
1st Jan 2024 have achieved 196%
I take photos, am not a photographer.
Interested in insects, primarily...
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!
@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
@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
Wonderful photo and really interesting to think about what the parasite might be. Parasites are fascinating despite the almost instinctive shudder of repellence!
@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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Often the parasite has a parasite, that makes for REALLY interesting relationships!
Thanks for commenting.
j
j
j