When Charles Darwin first encountered parasitoid wasps, he was horrified. In an 1860 letter to American botanist Asa Gray, he wrote: "I cannot persuade myself that a beneficent and omnipotent God ...

We humans have our fair share of parasites, some annoying, some dangerous. Common parasitic predators include bed bugs, lice, roundworms, tapeworms and ticks. Some of these and others can cause ...

A unique "star" was discovered from the Ryukyu Islands, a biodiversity hot spot in subtropical Japan: a star-shaped structure that turned out to be the cocoon mass of a new species of parasitoid wasp.

Scientists are studying how different species of wasps can be used for insect biocontrol in the United States. Abigail Eisenstadt The parasitoid samurai wasp, Trissolcus japonicus, is one of many ...

Aphid-hunting wasps can reproduce with or without sex, challenging previous assumptions. This unique flexibility could boost sustainable pest control if its hidden drawbacks can be managed. The ...

Diachasmimorpha longicaudata, a parasitoid wasp that helps control pests. Sheina Sim, CC BY But what may not be clear to the casual beachgoer is that there’s a fight for survival occurring within the ...

A new species of parasitoid wasp that constructs remarkable star-shaped cocoon masses is reported from the biodiversity hot spot Ryukyu Islands. Researchers observed how the wasps construct 'stars' ...