Egg for ID

[goosey]

I found this egg hanging from Garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata), I have never seen anything like it before. I should think it was 3-4mm in length. The creature above it I think is just coincidence and was a dead caterpillar.
Thoughts on my egg?

[Pudding4brains]

Hi Goosey,

Your "egg" is not the first life stage, but the last before adulthood

Imho we're looking at the cocoon of a parasitic wasp that has killed the caterpillar above it. The larva of the wasp emerges from the dead caterpillar when it's done feeding on it and spins a cocoon. Usually I find such cocoons, slightly larger ones - more elongated - sort of attached to the substrate as opposed to suspended such as here.

A very similar cocoon was shown just the other day on insektenfotos.de. Would be great to know what wasp spins these. Any chance of you finding the cocoon back and letting it sit in a jar (preferably suspended as is, such as not to hinder the emerging process) until we can see the wasp?

Cheers, Arp

P.S. If you do so, please, please also keep the caterpillar remains so these might find a possible ID yet.

[Pudding4brains]

Btw, is the photo "horizontal"? The cocoon seems to be "suspended" under an angle. The author of the German pictures also mentioned that the photos are level and that cocoon is also clearly "off bubble-level" ...

Arp

[goosey]

Ooooo! How exciting, well not for the caterpillar of course .

I don't know if I can get back tomorrow or not, andI don't know my chance of finding it again but I will do my best . If I do find it and the wasp has already flown there is a good chance the caterpillar remains wil be there so I can get that.

It was windy and it was blowing around a bit, I do have another photo which shows it from a slightly different angle.

[goosey]

Today was the first chance I had to get back and check it out, but hardly surprising though I couldn't find it or the host larva. Sorry Arp, next time I will know what to do.

[goosey]

Originally Posted by Pudding4brains

Hi Goosey,

Your "egg" is not the first life stage, but the last before adulthood

Imho we're looking at the cocoon of a parasitic wasp that has killed the caterpillar above it. The larva of the wasp emerges from the dead caterpillar when it's done feeding on it and spins a cocoon. Usually I find such cocoons, slightly larger ones - more elongated - sort of attached to the substrate as opposed to suspended such as here.

A very similar cocoon was shown just the other day on insektenfotos.de. Would be great to know what wasp spins these. Any chance of you finding the cocoon back and letting it sit in a jar (preferably suspended as is, such as not to hinder the emerging process) until we can see the wasp?

Cheers, Arp

P.S. If you do so, please, please also keep the caterpillar remains so these might find a possible ID yet.

Guess what goosey found today . , yes another one of these wasp cocoons with some of the caterpillar remains, but I don't think I have it all., it looks a bit meager.
It was more or less in the same place as I found the one last year albeit a bit later.

I have brought it home - I am a bit worried about my lovely moth caterpillars in the garden, but seeing as you asked so nicely I though I had better . If the wasp does emerge, after no doubt a traumatic hour or so in a pot I will release it else where.

Seeing as I have planned for the release, lets hope the wasp does emerge now . I hope it won't take too long!

[Pudding4brains]

Meantime here some links with comparable (but not quite the same) cocoons with an actual name were provided and there was some other name somewhere (for an even more similar cocoon), but I can't seem to find it back

Will be interesting to seen te wasp. You may want to decide to keep the wasp and send it in for proper ID by an expert - they are not at all easy to ID from photo.

Cheers, Arp

[goosey]

Originally Posted by Pudding4brains

Meantime here some links with comparable (but not quite the same) cocoons with an actual name were provided and there was some other name somewhere (for an even more similar cocoon), but I can't seem to find it back

Will be interesting to seen te wasp. You may want to decide to keep the wasp and send it in for proper ID by an expert - they are not at all easy to ID from photo.

Cheers, Arp

Thanks Arp, there is no change yet.
I would rather just release it when it emerges .

[Pudding4brains]

From what I read elsewhere it seems responsible to place it in the subfamily Campopleginae (according to this Kees van Achterberg didn't go any further anyway). Various posts on different fora seem to suggest that the cocoons are quite "jumpy" Did you notice any of that?

Cheers, Arp

[Pudding4brains]

Hi Goosey,

I hadn't even noticed your last post - we must have been writing around the same time

If you'd rather let it go then that is what you should do - no contest

I hope it won't take too long!

I'm afraid you'll probably have to be patient until early next spring At least this one was collected in June and didn't hatch until April the next year ...

Cheers, Arp

[goosey]

Originally Posted by Pudding4brains

I'm afraid you'll probably have to be patient until early next spring At least this one was collected in June and didn't hatch until April the next year ...

No!!!! That just won't do!!!!!!

How can it take so long especially given the plant it was on, it is a Perennial and will have died back probably before November?

[goosey]

An update: Nothing new to report it is still just hanging there, so next spring could be a possibility after all .
I have some bad news though, the larva skin has disintergrated in to practically nothing .