What is inside this caterpillar?

My Potatoes · Posted: Sun Sep 22, 2013 5:22 pm Post subject: What is inside this caterpillar?

I was removing and killing a few Pieris brassicae catepillars today a when I ripped the bodies apart, they contained what looked like babies. Maggot-like living bodies. What are they? Is this normal?

michael brenock · Posted: Sun Sep 22, 2013 9:41 pm Post subject:

probably the maggots of the Ichneumonid fly which parasatise the cabbage white butterfly caterpillars, note I stress probably
michael brenock

My Potatoes · Posted: Tue Sep 24, 2013 8:11 pm Post subject:

I was thinking this. Are they a positive parasite, ie, have a symbiotic relationship with the host? The reason I ask is that the caterpillars are healthy and their appetite certainly hasn't been affected.

My Potatoes · Posted: Tue Sep 24, 2013 8:11 pm Post subject:

I was thinking this. Are they a positive parasite, ie, have a symbiotic relationship with the host? The reason I ask is that the caterpillars are healthy and their appetite certainly hasn't been affected.