This is a small braconid wasp which is mainly black with yellow on its abdomen and yellow legs. Adults feed on nectar.
Adult size: 3-5mm
Out and about
The cabbage butterfly is active over the warmer months of spring through to autumn. They will lay eggs during this time with the eggs hatching after about 4 days. The wasp lays its own eggs in the earliest instars of the caterpillars. Found in Europe, Africa, Australia, North America, South and Central America
Reproduction and Life cycle
The female lays between 16 and 50 eggs in the larvae of the cabbage white butterfly. Once the eggs hatch the wasp larvae eat the caterpillar whilst it is still alive. When the larva are fully grown they make cocoons outside the caterpillars’ body. The caterpillar then shrivels up or disappears completely. The adult wasps will emerge from the cocoons. An adult female can lay between 150 to 200 eggs over her lifetime. The time from egg to adult is about 22 to 30 days.
