Aphid-mummy
Guides
Aphidius
Aphidius is a genus of small parasitoid wasps in the family Braconidae, subfamily Aphidiinae. Adults are typically less than 3.2 mm in length. All known species are endoparasitoids of aphids, with females laying eggs directly into aphid hosts. The developing larvae consume the aphid from within, eventually killing it and forming a characteristic 'mummy'—a tan or yellow, enlarged exoskeleton from which the adult wasp emerges by chewing a round exit hole. The genus has cosmopolitan distribution and includes species widely used for biological control of aphid pests in agriculture and horticulture.
Aphidius ervi
Aphidius ervi is a parasitoid wasp in the subfamily Aphidiinae, widely distributed globally and extensively used in biological control programs against aphid pests. It parasitizes larger aphid species, particularly Macrosiphum euphorbiae (potato aphid) and Aulacorthum solani (foxglove aphid), and to a lesser extent Acyrthosiphon pisum (pea aphid). The wasp induces host castration and immunosuppression through venom proteins, allowing its larva to develop within the living aphid until emerging from a characteristic 'aphid mummy' by chewing a round exit hole.