Monday, January 30, 2017

A caterpillar green around the gills, part two

After emerging from their caterpillar host, the young wasps quickly lost their plump, bright green forms.

Day 1: The wasp larvae (right) emerge from the moth caterpillar (left).
Over the next two days, they first faded to a dull yellow...

Day 2: The wasp larvae begin to pupate.
...and then shriveled and blackened.

Day 3: The wasp larvae have become pupae.

However, the wasps were not sickening and dying -- they were progressing normally through their development from larvae to pupae. Meanwhile, the moth caterpillar that stood by, apparently healthy except for its inertia, had its own development frozen. To be continued...

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