A reminder of the scene that greeted me when I first tore open the cocoon within cell A.

As it appeared before I tore away the papery cocoon to reveal the contents.

The larva from cocoon B was still relatively undamaged … and no doubt alive. It was motionless. At this prepupal stage, they are largely immobile anyway, but the addition of toxins from the founding parasitoid would have effectively paralysed the host. This ensures that her eggs and larvae are not dislodged or crushed.

The hatched larvae, with their segmented bodies, are already feeding. Some are larger than others, their guts appearing yellow through otherwise transparent bodies.