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''Dinocampus coccinellae'' is a braconid wasp parasite of coccinellid beetles, including the spotted lady beetle, ''Coleomegilla maculata''. ''D. coccinellae'' has been described as turning its ladybird host into a temporary "zombie" guarding the wasp cocoon. About 25% of ladybirds recover after the cocoon they are guarding matures. ==Description== In 1802, Schrank first described a female adult of this species as "Lady-bird killer 2155. Deep black, eyes green; head, front legs, and apex of the petiolate abdomen mussel-brown."〔 (A petiolate abdomen is one whose basal segment is stalk-like, that is, long and slender.) Nearly all ''D. coccinellae'' are female offspring of unfertilized eggs, although males are also occasionally found. The male, when observed, has no ovipositor and is slimmer and darker than females. The mature female wasp seeks out adult female ladybirds, although they will sometimes oviposit into a male adult or larval instar.〔 One egg is planted in the host's soft underbelly. The wasp larva hatches after 5–7 days into a first instar larva with large mandibles and proceeds to remove the ladybird's own eggs and larvae before beginning to feed on its fat bodies and gonads.〔 The wasp larva inside the ladybird goes through four larval instars in 18–27 days.〔 Meanwhile the ladybird continues to forage and feed until the wasp larva, when it is ready to emerge, paralyzes the ladybird before tunneling out. It pupates in a cocoon attached to the leg of the living ladybird, whose brightly colored body and occasional twitching reduce predation. Ladybirds paralyzed, twitching, and attached to the cocoon of ''D. coccinellae'' have been compared to zombies by many writers. After 6–9 days, the wasp emerges from the cocoon.〔 Remarkably, some 25% of ladybirds revive and emerge from paralysis once the cocoon has been emptied.〔 The paralytic effect has been proposed to be associated with an RNA virus, ''Dinocampus coccinellae'' paralysis virus. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Dinocampus coccinellae」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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