Urticating-caterpillar-enemy
Guides
Cotesia empretiae
Saddleback Caterpillar Parasitoid Wasp
Cotesia empretiae is a small parasitoid wasp in the family Braconidae that specializes in attacking caterpillars, particularly the saddleback caterpillar (Acharia stimulea). Females hunt actively on foliage, using their ovipositor to deposit eggs inside host caterpillars. The wasp larvae develop internally, eventually emerging through the host's skin to spin characteristic white silk cocoons on the exterior. Like other Cotesia species, this wasp transmits a polydnavirus during oviposition that suppresses the host's immune system, enabling successful parasitoid development.