07/29/2026
While this is not my “normal post”, I wanted to share a little bit of the incredible nature I get to see here on my property.
Meet “Cotesia congregata”! This is a tiny “beneficial” parasitoid wasp, famous for targeting hornworm caterpillars, using a symbiotic virus to suppress host immunity, and leaving white silk cocoons on the host's back.
The female wasps inject up to 100 eggs and special bracoviruses inside a living hornworm (such as the to***co or tomato hornworm).
Wasp larvae hatch and eat the caterpillar's non-vital tissue from the inside for about 12 days. The larvae chew through the caterpillar's skin and spin small, white, oval cocoons that look like rice grains sticking out of the back. The parasitized caterpillar stops eating and eventually dies after adult wasps emerge from the cocoons.
This wasp is considered to be a beneficial insect for gardens, because it keeps hornworms and other caterpillars from eating your tomatoes and other goods. I believe that all life is beautiful, and I was happy to help these hornworms to a better place, and hopefully extend their life.
