Hornworm parasitoid wasp
The hornworm parasitoid wasp is a tiny wasp with a surprising way of life. The mother lays her eggs inside big hornworm caterpillars that eat tomato and tobacco plants. Her babies grow up inside the caterpillar, then crawl out and spin little cocoons.
How fast is it?
Fun facts
Together with her eggs, the mother puts a special virus into the caterpillar that stops it from fighting off her babies.
The babies come out of the caterpillar 12 to 16 days after the eggs were laid.
The grown-up wasps fly out of their cocoons about 4 to 8 days later.
One mother can lay around 1700 eggs in her life.
Because it attacks hornworms, it helps gardeners protect their tomato plants.
Most asked questions about Hornworm parasitoid wasp
?What are the little white cocoons on a hornworm?
They are cocoons of hornworm parasitoid wasp babies that grew up inside the caterpillar.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Cotesia congregata
- Group
- Wasps and hornets
- Family
- Braconidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Hymenoptera > Braconidae
- Lives on
- North America
Where the facts come from
- Cotesia congregata (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
- Picture by Beatriz Moisset. CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.
If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.
Bug Wiki honey jar For grown-ups: Bug Wiki is free, with no ads and no tracking. A small tip helps keep it online.Leave a tip
European hornet
Northern giant hornet
Bald-faced hornet
Red velvet ant
Eastern cicada killer
Asian hornet
Mint beetle
Leopard moth
Marbled white
Giant resin bee
Australian sheep blowfly
Bella moth