2# 3# - Buquetia musca aka Tachina Fly
4# 5# - From Ichneumonoidea Family Aka ichneumon wasps



Long time ago I’ve seen 3 cocoons ( You can see them here) and I couldn’t resist in saving them to see which butterfly would hatch from each! I saved them in transparent boxes and I’ve put them near my desktop, so every day I’d know if something happened! Some days ago, I got surprised when one of the little cocoons, had been eaten by a maggot, and I discover that the cocoon(well not exactly the cocoon but the caterpillar) had been infected by a Tachina fly! These flies are very similar to flesh flies, as you can see on the picture. Ok, I got shocked, but I was ok, because I knew I had still 2 more to see! I pic up the tachina fly pupa more the eaten cocoon, to a separate box, so when the tachina fly hatched I’d also photograph it. All was fine till yesterday. The tachina fly hatched, and those are the shots! But in the same day, in the other box, the other little cocoon hatched too! But it was not a butterfly, but a bunch of 10 or more , little ichneumon wasps! One of this wasps (the mother) infected the caterpillar while she was alive, and then when she was on the cocoon, these wasps had eaten alive the poor caterpillar! Now is only left the big cocoon! I just hope it at least is not infected with some parasite! As for now I’ll never know which butterfly was on the little cocoons! :(

I apologize for the quality of these shots. First because they were taken with low light, and especially the little wasps were not more than 3 mm!

now i have a few questions. did u infect them was it you that infected them, D: or are u infected too :(. i know a big huge butterfly comes out of the last so don't worry next time you should do an experiment on me i wont doe if you attend and take care of me onlymehdi · 2009-11-19: 16:52

Also i am fat you have to feed me alot or i will bye onlymehdi · 2009-11-19: 17:03

Oh Ricky... I thought it was only a wasp... not a whole family!! T_T ????? · 2009-11-19: 17:15

OMG You are doing animal experiments!! This is very wrong Ricky How can you say we shouldn't interfere to save a butterfly from a spider or another preditor, and then put cocoons in plastic boxes to see what might happen...in the natural environment the preditors will have their own preditors and so the cocoons have the chance to survive...you have made the cocoons very vunerable here. I am quite shocked you did this !!! ????? · 2009-11-19: 17:33

Nop Ted! I didn't Interfear with Nothing! I saved the cocoons to see what they would hatch! and then i'd let them go! As I've said, the parasite already infected them when they were caterpillars! so I cant do anything! The insects that hatched, I didn't kill any of them, i let them go free. I thought they would hatch butterflies and not parasits! I saved the cocoons, once where they were they would be killed by my parents, since they were in my house, and I'm sure they would do it. Besides that, they would survive, because the places where they were were very comuflated! My Experiment was to see which butterfly would hatch from that cocoon only! after it hatch i'd let it go! Tell me Ted what is wrong with this? onlyricky · 2009-11-19: 17:40

Ohh, ok you didn't take them from outside...I apologise Ricky. I thought you took them to study what will happen...I will remove the comment, no problem...but maybe you could make it clear for others that you just moved them to try to save them otherwise people might think you were doing some experiments :-) ????? · 2009-11-19: 18:15

Grrrrr, demasiados bichos juntos Me da yuyu, jajaja LysMandala · 2009-11-19: 19:13

Yewwwwwww. BuffyEyes · 2009-11-19: 21:08

Very good pictures Ricky:) boszorka65 · 2009-11-20: 00:19

Ricky I totally support you in your close observations of nature. Ted is getting his knickers in a twist, but don't worry, I think we all know that you are a true lover of insects and would never make cruel experiments on them. SADHYA · 2009-11-20: 04:43

Very interesting observations :-) jet28 · 2009-11-20: 04:54

OOhhh... O_o huiching · 2009-11-20: 05:16

WoW ... I Think You Have a Beautiful Garden !!! Mrmz1992 · 2009-11-20: 06:07

thanks for posting. Askrubies · 2009-11-20: 07:22

Quite an interesting observation, Ricky....seems like you've learned some things and so have we through your shots and documentation! lookagain · 2009-11-20: 07:31

Cute:)) leocheung · 2009-11-20: 07:49

you are a scientist with a camera!~!!!!! Great idea urmysunshine · 2009-11-20: 09:23

Interessantes..... JaCkYe · 2009-11-20: 10:58

Ricky, o cientista!! :)) Unchained · 2009-11-20: 12:52

well done:)) ????? · 2009-11-20: 15:05

you really should study that the best is if job is equal to the hobby :-) GKorts · 2009-11-20: 15:18

Wow, that`s very interesting! Wasichseh · 2009-11-20: 17:20

I agree very interesting Ricky :)) lynnsgallery2 · 2009-11-20: 19:15

aww how sad..! but what an interesting experiment mverellen · 2009-11-20: 20:14

yes indeed, very interesting!! jennye · 2009-11-20: 21:49

:D Great Ricky. :)) ????? · 2009-11-21: 07:26

The photo quality makes little difference for such an adventure... When I was a boy I collected some Monarch caterpillars and fed them until they pupated and became butterflies... they were in an old shoe box... and when they became butterflies... so beautiful! Earnest · 2009-11-21: 11:27

interesting Post Ricky ! finbarr · 2009-11-21: 15:13

cool miltonjacob · 2009-11-21: 19:05

It's interesting and sad. Poor caterpillars. :( BlasiusW · 2009-11-22: 16:09

Very interesting experiment. Love picture #2, the way you frame it, the lighting and the colors noptek · 2009-11-23: 13:10

Tagged: wasp cocoon tachinafly tachina fly experiment pupa