www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

is it known how the parasitic wasps find the eggs? Do they have some means of detecting them from a distance, follow the females around or simply rely on blind luck?

Matt Rowlings and I watched a female peacock laying this summer and parasitic wasps were present even as the eggs came out of her bottom.

Of course, peacocks are very different from WLH, and the egg-laying strategy is quite different. But it shows that in principle wasps are capable of following a butterfly and watching for her to start laying.

These are the eggs and wasps immediately after laying:





Guy