Cotesia glomerata

Cotesia glomerata, the white butterfly parasite, is a small parasitoid wasp belonging to family Braconidae. It was described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 publication 10th edition of Systema Naturae.

Cotesia glomerata
Imago
Cotesia glomerata on a pupal cocoon.
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Braconidae
Genus:	Cotesia
Species:	C. glomerata
Binomial name
Cotesia glomerata (Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms
Apanteles glomeratus[1]

Description

Cocoons of Cotesia species with the remains of a dead parasitized caterpillar

Larvae of Cotesia glomerata emerging from a caterpillar of a Pieris brassicae butterfly

The adults of Cotesia glomerata can reach a length of 3–7 millimetres (0.12–0.28 in). This small braconid wasp is black, with two pairs of wings. It can parasitize a wide range of Pieris butterfly species as host, but the large white (Pieris brassicae) and small white (Pieris rapae) are the main hosts. The adults feed on nectar.^[2]

Life cycle

After hatching from the pupae, females mate almost immediately and begin laying eggs.^[3] The eggs are laid in the larvae of butterflies known as caterpillars, where the C. glomerata larvae develop; multiple eggs numbering between 16–52 are deposited in each caterpillar.^[4] After 15 to 20 days the larvae emerge, usually killing the parasitised caterpillar. These newly emerged larvae spin cocoons in a cluster on or nearby the host caterpillar; after 7 to 10 days the imago adult wasps hatch from these cocoons. Males typically emerge before females and disperse from the area.^[5] Overall, it takes between 22 and 30 days for an egg to develop to full adulthood. ^[3]

Cotesia glomerata is in turn parasitized by the hyperparasite wasps Lysibia nana and Gelis agilis.^[6]

Distribution

This species is present in most of Europe, in the Afrotropical realm, the Australasian realm, the Nearctic realm, and the Neotropical realm.^[7]