Hover Fly Larvae Parasite Wasp - Diplazon laetatorius
Family ICHNEUMONIDAE
This page contains pictures and information about Hover Fly Larvae Parasite Wasps that we found in the Brisbane area, Queensland, Australia.
- Body length 10mm
- The Hover Fly Larvae Parasite Wasp is in family ICHNEUMONIDAE and also called Ichneumon Wasp. This wasp lay eggs on Hover Fly larvae. The Hover Fly larvae feed on aphids. The wasp is shiny black in colour with brown legs and brown abdomen. There is the white segment on their hind legs.
- Hover Fly larvae, length 12mm Pupa, length 10mm
- We found the larvae amongst feeding on the aphids and we thought it was a Hover Fly larvae although it was darker in colour and 1-2 mm longer. A few days later it turn into a pupa and look like a Hover Fly pupa too. However, a week later, it emerged as a Ichneumon Wasp.
- We then thought there are two different larvae which look the same and both feed on aphids.
- The wasp just emerges from pupa. It fly away after its wings is dry and harden.
- A few weeks later, on a milkweed plant, where is a lot of aphids, we find two larvae. The two larvae look exactly the same. They turned into two pupa look exactly the same. However, one emerged a hover fly and a few days later one emerged a wasp. We started to suspect they were all hover fly larvae but one parasited by Ichneumon Wasp.
- Reference:
- 1. An introduction to the Ichneumonidae of Australia - Gauld, I.D. 1984, British Museum, p349, fig525.
- 2. Diplazon laetatorius - Australian Insect Common Names, CSIRO, 2005.
- 3. Northern Territory Insects, A Comprehensive Guide CD - Graham Brown, 2009.
