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Metallic Hyperparasite - _TNY_4859

You know those small balls that sometimes appear on leaves? Those are called galls and are the result of the larvae of a small wasp which use the gall as protection while eating from the leaf.

 

This here is the tiniest of countermeasures, a sub-2mm (0.079") chalcid wasp in the Torymus genus shot at 3:1 magnification while walking on my thumb. For part 1 I really cranked the magnification up so you can find it here at 4.8:1(!) mag: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/53243460946/

 

Telling which exact species this is can't be done without picking it apart which you know isn't my thing, but each species target a different species of gall wasp and they use their ovipositor to lay their egg in the larva inside the gall.

 

The concept of parasitising on a parasite is known as hyperparasitism.

 

I also managed to take two photos of this one using my phone camera which provides a better view of the scale here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/53243460936/ and here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/53412527808/

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Uploaded on December 21, 2023
Taken on July 11, 2023