Insects and Spiders

Close Up Of The Caterpillar

The caterpillar doesn't look too bad right now but the larvae have been eating the insides of the caterpillar. They all emerged and spun their cocoons. At the time I was both fascinated and horrified. Took my shots and left everything alone. No sign of it the next day. Upon hindsight, I probably should have taken it inside a habitat and got shots of the wasps as they emerged. Farmers will deliberately introduce these wasps to their fields to cut down on the caterpillars eating their crops.
Tersa Sphinx Caterpillar (Xylophanes tersa)
Hornworm Parasitoid Wasp (Cotesia congregata)
Pentas (Pentas sp)

Xylophanes tersaTersa Sphinx CaterpillarTersa Sphinxcaterpillarmimicfake eyesfake stinger5th instargarland texasbuginsectbrown morphclose upeye spotspentasoutside my windowPentas sp.Hornworm Parasitoid WaspCotesia congregataparasitoid waspwasp cocoonsparasitoid wasp cocoonscocoons