Naughty, Nice or Neutral?
Naughty, neutral or nice? These tinly wasps are parasitic on some caterpillars, boreres, weevils and beetes, making them a beneficial garden visitor.
Braconid Wasps
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Many years ago, at a time when my wife was 8-months
pregnant, we took in a movie but were not very particular
in our choice. Two hours later, after seeing the original
Alien , she said, "That was a big mistake. Where
was Mary Poppins when we needed her?"
This visceral reaction to the idea of foreign "things"
living inside other animals, including ourselves, must come
from a long human history of living with the likes of
tapeworms, pinworms and scabies. Or, taking an analytical
view of the natural world, it could be described as one big
transfer of nutrients from one organism to another. Within
that simple model, unlimited ways exist in which the
materials of one organism can be borrowed or hijacked by
another. The braconid mini-wasps fit the profile; they are
insects that fulfill their life cycle by inhabiting the
bodies of other creatures.
The braconid family is in the Order Hymenoptera, which
includes other bees and wasps, but all 1,700 North American
species in this family are stingless, and so small you have
to pay close attention to see them. They can be almost
invisible, at 2 to 3 millimeters long, or veritable giants
at 15 millimeters (about 5/8 inch). Antennae will usually
be noticeable and a visible ovipositor (not a stinger) is
common to many species. Most will be black or brown, but a
few have some color. Braconids are short and
stocky—the abdomen is about the same length as the
head and thorax combined. Unlike other wasps, braconids do
not have skinny "waists." They can be confused with small
flies.
Different braconids are parasitic on army worms, eastern
tent caterpillars, corn borers, cotton bollworms, alfalfa
weevils, wheat-stem sawflies and Douglas-fir bark beetles,
just to name a few. In the garden and orchard, this
beneficial parasitism occurs on aphids, coddling moths,
tomato hornworms, garden webworms and on many different
caterpillars, beetles and flies.
