Caught in the act

ID: Chalcidoid wasp

Named after its copper-ish body colour, this tiny beauty, hardly 3-4mm across, was seen busy laying its eggs into some unknown egg clusters, identification of those egg clusters would be helpful, which were laid underneath the leaf. Though it seemed not so obvious due to the tiny size, almost feeling like any tiny leafhopper feeding on the leaf’s liquid, on close observation, post framing it, I could see the ovipositor dug inside the soft tissue of the egg cluster and continued to do so for a long time, enough to frame the same in close distance. Interesting to see this behaviour, where these infamous wasps tend to lay its eggs inside other insects’ eggs, which in turn feast on the source eggs, eventually killing them off.

EXIF:
Canon 80D
Canon 100mm macro
F/11
Shutterspeed 1/250
ISO 400
Handheld, External flash fired

Location: Thane

So they behave like Cuckoo, laying their eggs in others nest and destroying the native eggs :(. Interesting to know that this behavior is seen in the insect world also. The low angle adds to the composition. Good details on the leaf surface and the insect. Thanks for sharing.

Very interesting information and behaviour recorded. Whether tiny or large, there is so much to explore in the natural world. Thanks for sharing.

Cheers,
Sabyasachi