Tiny Driller. Bracon Wasp on Ox-eye Daisy, Leucanthemon vulgare, Océ-weerd, Meuse Corridor, Venlo, The Netherlands
This tiny member of the Braconidae - you can judge just how tiny by comparing to the 'heart' of our Daisy and to the wee pollen grains stuck to her - was foraging, I imagine for sweets. But she was also looking for a place to deposit an egg. In fact, you can see her drilling into Daisy (inset below right) and preparing to do so in the main photo. From those two photos it's clear, too, that her ovipositor is a complex organ with a central tube, in this case, chestnut brown, and at least one appendage that, I think, is the driller. She flew away, and I took a look closely at the spot where her ovipostior had 'been' to see if I could discern a maggot of some kind. But even with my loupe I couldn't find anything. Perhaps I should look more carefully next time...
Tiny Driller. Bracon Wasp on Ox-eye Daisy, Leucanthemon vulgare, Océ-weerd, Meuse Corridor, Venlo, The Netherlands
This tiny member of the Braconidae - you can judge just how tiny by comparing to the 'heart' of our Daisy and to the wee pollen grains stuck to her - was foraging, I imagine for sweets. But she was also looking for a place to deposit an egg. In fact, you can see her drilling into Daisy (inset below right) and preparing to do so in the main photo. From those two photos it's clear, too, that her ovipositor is a complex organ with a central tube, in this case, chestnut brown, and at least one appendage that, I think, is the driller. She flew away, and I took a look closely at the spot where her ovipostior had 'been' to see if I could discern a maggot of some kind. But even with my loupe I couldn't find anything. Perhaps I should look more carefully next time...