ORDER HYMENOPTERA (WASPS, SAWFLIES & VELVET ANTS)

Hymenoptera-Pteromalidae-Nasonia vitripennis-Pteromalids FEMALE (A)

Nasonia vitripennis

El Paso, El Paso County, Texas
May 15, 2016
I collected approximately 30 fly pupae from under a dry deer carcass and placed them in containers hoping to obtain adult flies to identify and match to the pupae. Instead of obtaining flies, these tiny wasps emerged. The parasitism level was close to 100%. Only one fly emerged, but it didn’t develop properly. When I released the wasps, they immediately started mating and flew away in minutes. The most abundant adult fly species observed when I collected these pupae was Cochliomyia macellaria.
Determined by Ross Hill

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