First Instar Monarch Eating Wasp Larvae

[Mona Miller]

ttp://s964.photobucket.com/albums/ae121 ... Granaghan/

Laura McGranaghan took these photos. She said that the first instar is actually eating the (what I think is wasp larvae) larvae.

It appears that the wasp laid in the Monarch egg.

[Mona Miller]

I asked Laura about whether the caterpillar came out of the egg that had the wasp larvae in it. Here is her reply:

"No, there had been 2 monarch eggs on one leave. I thought that was pretty cool, so I was keeping an eye on it. The monarch cat came out of one and when I looked next the other was open and I could see the wasp larvae. Sorry, I didn't pay closer attention. Not sure if there had been a cat in the wasp larvae egg. Liam does have some good photos of the cat eating the larvae, but.... we have dial up and I can't send them until tomorrow at work. This is so exciting ~ thanks for helping find out the "story"! Peace, Laura"

Looks like it could be Trichogramma minutum, but if anyone else can tell from the photos what it is, please let us know.

http://www.learnaboutbutterflies.com/En ... rflies.htm

http://www.nhm.ac.uk/research-curation/ ... Only=true&
Gillogly, G.M.; Gillogly, L.R. 1953, Trichogramma minutum in monarch butterfly eggs (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae); Lepidoptera: Danaidae). Pan-Pacific Entomologist 29:111-120

http://books.google.com/books?id=r3kVAA ... &q&f=false

http://www.biocontrol.entomology.cornel ... ramma.html
These also parasitize eggs.

http://www.rinconvitova.com/bulletins_p ... ma_BUL.pdf
"These pale yellow micro-wasps, 1/100 inch long, smaller than a pinhead, drill through moth eggs to deposit 1-3 of their own eggs; moth egg size, and hence how many of their own eggs to lay, is calculated by timing walks across moth egg surfaces."