Hornworm Meets Alien

Home gardeners often notice fuzzy, white “eggs“ on hornworms in the later-summer. These are actually the spun cocoons of parasites, in the wasp family Braconidae, that fed and grew within the hornworm, nearly killing it in the process. Tiny wasps will soon emerge from the cocoons, mate, then females will seek other hornworms in which to insert their eggs. Watch time-lapse photography of hornworms feeding on a green tomato, wasp larvae emerge (chew their way through the skin), pupate, and then emerge