Caterpillar Mummy

This is the mummified host remains of a caterpillar that was parasitized by a mummy-wasp (Aleiodes sp.). It had a smooth, white cuticle with a darker and densely wrinkled anterior end and a hole on the dorsal surface. Aleiodes wasps are koinobionts, which means that the host caterpillar is not permanently paralyzed, but continues to feed and grow for a period of time after being parasitized. They are also endoparasitoids (they inject the eggs into the host's body). Once the eggs hatch inside of the host caterpillar, the Aleiodes larvae feed and pupate within the shrunken and mummified host caterpillar. Finally, the wasps exit from the host mummy through a circular dorsal hole. The actual mummification of the caterpillar is hypothesized to be caused by the physical elimination of the host’s corpora allatum by the parasitoid larvae. Removing the corpora allatum would reduce the juvenile hormone levels in the host caterpillar and therefore induce the formation of a pupal cuticle, resulting in a hardened cuticle.