Life and death struggle for the unfortunate hoverfly larva
Having a little time to go looking amongst the wildlife meadow brings rewards. I have never seen this before, and the action caught my attention. A parasitoid wasp is attempting then succeeding in using its sting-like ovipositor to oviposit inside an unlucky hoverfly larva.
This action will cause the hoverfly larva to be eaten alive from the inside out!
Here we have a living biological pest controller. The hoverfly larva had been predating upon aphids in the garden. I was interested to know approximately how many aphids it may have eaten. Bearing in mind there as so many variables to be considered such as the size and the species of both hoverfly and aphid, toxin content and escape behaviour. An average may be between 400-500 per larva.
A deadly encounter
Except, in this case, the predator itself became the prey for the parasitoid wasp larvae and twist, wiggle and try escape as much as it liked, it could do nothing to stop it.
Life is harsh and cruel even for beneficial predators!
Many thanks, to Professors Simon Leather and Francis Gilbert for their help and information about hoverfly predation. Thanks also to Dr Gavin Borad who suggested the was a Fatigd species, possibly melanips.
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