7- Spot ladybird Coccinella 7-punctata
Introduction
The photograph on this page of 7- Spot ladybird Coccinella 7-punctata by Peter Pearson as part of the Geograph project.
The Geograph project started in 2005 with the aim of publishing, organising and preserving representative images for every square kilometre of Great Britain, Ireland and the Isle of Man.
There are currently over 7.5m images from over 14,400 individuals and you can help contribute to the project by visiting https://www.geograph.org.uk
7- Spot ladybird Coccinella 7-punctata
Image: © Peter Pearson Taken: 17 May 2012
This photograph shows a 7-Spot Ladybird that has been attacked by Dinocampus coccinellae, a parasitic wasp. Adult wasps inject the beetle with a single egg. The wasp larva hatches and lives inside the ladybird eating its non-vital organs until it is ready to pupate. It paralyzes the ladybird, eats its way out through the underside – all while the ladybird is alive - then spins a cocoon between the beetle’s legs and pupates there while the still living host stands guard over it.
Images are licensed for reuse under creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0
Image Location
Latitude
51.907309
Longitude
0.925157