Join Green Wasp Removal as we observe parasitoid wasps in action (Cotesia Congregata) as they pupate out of a hornworm in a local garden in Indiana, USA!

On September 10, 2022, we documented a tobacco hornworm (close relative of the common tomato hornworm), which had been parasitized by Braconid Wasp larvae. These hornworms are actually the larval stage of a large moth called the Tobacco Hawk Moth (Manduca Sexta). The wasps use the worm's body as their nest, and their food, from egg to larvae to pupating adult.

The larvae had already pupated out of the hornworm's body, and spun their silk cocoons which stay attached to the worm until the adult wasps emerge. This process eventually kills the host worm and therefore protects the tomato plants 100% naturally, without the need for toxic poisons/pesticides. This is nature's important job for these beneficial native parasitoid wasps. So if you ever see a tomato/tobacco worm in your garden that has these wasp cocoons attached, leave it where it is until the cocoons hatch out! These wasps are good friends to our local ecosystems.

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#wasp
#biocontrol
#waspnestremoval