Use this simple photographic trick to make tiny insect eggs look enormous
Step 1. Wait at the eggs for a parasitoid wasp to arrive. Step 2. Photograph the wasp laying her own eggs into her target, like so: Step 3: Marvel at how a fully developed wasp in all her intricate detail is an order of magnitude smaller than the egg of a butterfly.
By Alex Wild
This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American
Step 1. Wait at the eggs for a parasitoid wasp to arrive.
Step 2. Photograph the wasp laying her own eggs into her target, like so:
Step 3: Marvel at how a fully developed wasp in all her intricate detail is an order of magnitude smaller than the egg of a butterfly.
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What's going on here?
Scarcely any resource in nature goes untapped by some other organism looking to eat it. Small size is not a complete defense. Insect eggs, diminutive though they are, are plagued by even tinier insect parasites that develop inside them. A few days after the parasite arrives, these eggs will hatch out wasps in the place of a caterpillar.
Even more bizarrely, the parasite itself isn't immune from further attack. Other wasps specialize on the larvae of the egg parasitoids, and a second wasp may well come along to parasitize the parasite. Life can be fractal.
(Ok, the real trick to this magnification? I used Canon's MP-E 65mm 1-5x macro lens at 5x, and I approached from a low angle to elevate the subject. And, thanks to the excellent Green Hills Butterfly Ranch for hosting the photo session.)
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