Lysibia nana | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Clade: | Euarthropoda |
Class: | Insecta |
Order: | Hymenoptera |
Superfamily: | Ichneumonoidea |
Family: | Ichneumonidae |
Lysibia nana is a hyperparasitoid that infects Cotesia glomerata which is a parasite to wasps.
L. nana reproduces sexually and infects only hosts in the braconid subfamily. Adult L. nana females do not feed off of their host but rather rely on sources of nectars around their environment. L. nana finds its host by the secretion of chemical signals that are released by plants when they are attacked by herbivores. In order to start their process of infection, L. nana lays an egg in an C. glomerata grub. It prefers plants that have been previously attacked by animals infected by C. glomerata.