Distracted

It is entirely possible to spend an entire morning documenting fascinating changes to a caterpillar measuring 1.5 in. / 3.8 cm. I know, because I've done it.

I'd intended to sort out the kitchen pantry today, but on my usual morning stroll around the back yard to see if a blip possibility lurked there, I spotted an odd-looking twig on one of the bushes, hanging by a thread. It had a couple of tiny white rice-like things on it, which whetted my curiosity, so I returned with a macro lens on my camera for a closer look.

There were more little white things on the "twig," which through the macro lens I could see was a caterpillar, somewhat desiccated, and apparently dead. I also could see that those little white things were tiny cocoons, woven by infinitesimal larvae that had emerged from the caterpillar's body. 

I had a hunch that a parasitoid wasp  had something to do with this, and the morning flew by as I read more and more about those creatures. The one responsible for today's blip was probably in the Braconidae family, as some Braconids "pupate in silken cocoons on the outside of their dead host" (Wikipedia)

Briefly, the female wasp basically injects her eggs into the victim's body cavity. The eggs hatch inside the caterpillar and develop into larvae that live off the host's blood but do not kill it. After about two weeks, each wasp larva cuts through the caterpillar's skin, releasing a chemical that paralyzes it but does not kill it. They spin silken cocoons (see extra photos) and await their own transformation.

I accidentally touched the caterpillar when measuring it, and was surprised to see it twist and turn away. It then rappelled itself off the thin thread that suspended it from the twig and made its way up to the position shown in my blip, where it blends in well with its surroundings.

By the way, the caterpillar's head is to the right; the fleshy shapes holding the twig are anal (rear) claspers. 

Jensphotos is hosting TinyTuesday -- do take a look at her fabulous entry!

Blip 1371