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Parasitised aphid
Parasitised aphid (Microlophium carnosum) on a nettle leaf, artwork. It has been parasitised by the endoparasitoid larva of a braconid wasp. The adult wasp lays it egg inside the aphid and the larva consumes its host. After the aphid is consumed its skin becomes indurated and forms a so-called 'mummy'. The larva exits the aphid and spins a cocoon beneath the abdomen, inside which it becomes a pupa. This is characteristic of the wasps Praon sp., Dyscritulus sp. and Protaphidus sp.. Endoparasitoid relationships are utilised in organic farming techniques as a form of biological pest control.
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