Sunday, 12 June 2011

Cotesia hyphantriae (Riley)






This parasitoid emerged on 30/4/2010 from a cocoon found alongside a dead caterpillar in my Baildon garden.


I recognised the caterpillar as being that of Noctua fimbriata which I knew to have bred in the garden in 2009.


Mark Shaw identified the parasitoid as Cotesia hyphantriae (Riley) - quite an isolated species in its genus (part of the former "Apantales") that is known to overwinter in low-feeding noctuids.

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