CAUTION:Parasitoids Ahead!
HAPPY EARTH DAY!
Here are some of the parasitoids we found on a Geometrid (inchworm) caterpillar yesterday. Watch the video and then read on!
So most you probably figured out that PARASITOIDS are parasites that live on their hosts during part of their development and kill their host in the end. The parasitoids that the researchers are seeing here are flies and wasps. The flies are usually generalists and lay their eggs on plants that are eaten by the caterpillars. The eggs develop inside the caterpillar and eventually burrow out of the caterpillar as larvae and then pupate. The wasps are more specialized and search for caterpillars to parasitize. The female wasp injects her eggs into the caterpillar with her ovipositor and the eggs develop inside of the caterpillar. The larvae then burrow out of the caterpillar and hang onto the barely alive caterpillar while they pupate. There are even some parasitoids that parasitize other parasitoids, called hyperparasitoids. Creepy but cool, huh?
It was awesome seeing the rest of you today during the videoconference. I guess some of you in 6th or 7th hour might even be on TV or in the newspaper--pretty exciting, huh? I hope you have a better idea of what is going on here now.
Keep working on your response journals and posting those great comments and questions!
posted by Ms. Ball @ 6:25 AM
14 Comments:
Ms. Ball,
How can a parasitoid affect another parasitoid? And also, how long is the caterpillar going to live? It's kind of creepy that the wasps can do that to the caterpillars, but it is very interesting.
Andrea and Xinyi
Wow that's weird and a little creepy. From Andrew Hour 1
That video was very interesting. it is sad that insects lay/inject their eggs in other insects. With hyperparasitoids, does the infected parasitoid give the other insects it infects both parasites? When a caterpillar is injected by a wasp, does the caterpillar feel any pain or feel the eggs growing inside it?
Emma and Nikki.
Woah, thats really cool. I had no idea that wasps could look like that in their egg form!
-Will Adrian Ali
Wow! That video is kinda cool, but sad at the same time. Is there any chance of the catterpillar living if the eggs on the catterpillar are removed? Too bad we aren't in 6th/7th hour! :( Can't wait to see you!
-Caroline and Adelle
I had heard of catapillars being infected by wasps and flies but I had never actually seen one with the signs of an infection. Cool and a little nauseating.
Andrew
Are there über-hyperparasitoids?
-Nicholas
Ms. Ball-
Watching that video with the infected caterpillar was pretty gross. You can see the eggs and you know what is going to happen soon... I did have a few questions about parasitoids though.
1. Do all parasitoids infect all caterpillar species? Or are they selective about the hosts?
2. What kind of eggs were laid on the inchworm?
Happy hunting!
Hana A
Nice videos, I like the caterpillar hunter one. When will we see you wrestling a gator????
Mike
How many eggs can a wasp lay in a caterpillar? Because if there are too much eggs then most wont get all the nutrients they need while in Devolpment.
What exactly are hyperparasitoids? Like how are they different from regular parasites?
These parasites would be rather frightening if they began to lay eggs on plants that humans rely on for medicine and things like that. Malaria is already a huge problem in places and if this happened then we would have another huge problem to deal with.
~Danielle and Michelle
I watched this video a while back about the Leucochloridium paradoxum, its so cool how the parasite uses the snale so that it can get to its next host, the bird. Sounds like your having a good time!
~ Cora Bloom
The video was pretty cool. It was weird to see the parastoid move. It looks very funny, How do they move? How do they get inside you?
Kelsey and Amanda
Hey Mey Ms. Ball,
HAPPY EARTH Day!!! We are glad you are having fun in Louisiana. The paratisoids sound really REALLY gross.
1. In honor of earth day we are wondering is your bunker/house green? As in eco-friendly...
2. What's the weather like? It's about 84, and beautiful here.
LESLIE AND MELINDER
Ms. Ball,
We watched the video and Poor Caterpillar!
He looked like he was in a lot of pain. It's kind of hard for us to think about hyperparasitoids. They sound so harmful and probably affect the caterpillar population.
How many parasitoids have you found on your trip?
What is the life cycle of hyperparasitoids?
Is there any way to save the caterpillars that are infected by parasitoids?
-Jessica and Elena
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