FOREST HEALTH - INSECT PARASITES AND PREDATORS

Parasites
Parasites are insects that live in or on other insects and feed off a particular host individual. Brachionid and Ichneumonid wasps have long, scary-looking ovipositors but are harmless to humans. The females use these long ovipositors to drill through wood and deposit eggs into the larvae of wood borer and other larvae. The eggs hatch and the wasp larvae use the living host as a source of food. Friendly flies from several genera lay eggs in various species of caterpillars, using the caterpillars as food for the newly hatched young. There is a particular species of friendly fly which now helps check the damaging outbreaks of the exotic European gypsy moth. Hyperparasitism is when one insect parasitises another insect parasite.

Predators
Predators move around freely and eat as much prey as needed in order to complete their life cycle. Beetles are the most important of the insect predators, such as checkered beetles, ground beetles, and ladybird beetles. Ants eat many tree-feeding larvae. Of course, some ant species will also husband aphids for the production of honeydew.  Many other insects are predators of insects, such as adult lacewings on aphids, and dragon/damsel flies, antlions, certain wasps, certain true bugs, and mantids.

Image Citations
All others - Bill Cook, Michigan State University Extension

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This site created and maintained by Bill Cook, MSU Extension Forester for the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, now retired.  He continues to respond to suggestions, questions, and corrections. Contact him at cookwi@msu.edu.