This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American
When most people think of wasps, they imagine a stereotypically striped stinging insect. Such wasps are part of the family Vespidae, but they are, in fact, a minority of species and unrepresentative of their order. Taken by sheer number of species, the average wasp is quite a different animal: timid, stingless, and very, very small.
Encarsia pergandiella is scarcely larger than a speck of dust. This particular speck, however, is our friend. Encarsia is used extensively in agriculture as a natural control of the silverleaf whitefly, a pest of tomatoes, cotton, cucumbers, and other crops. Like the majority of wasps, Encarsia is not aggressive and does not sting.
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photo details:
Canon MP-E 65mm 1-5x lens on 12mm of extension on a Canon 20D
ISO 100, f/10, 1/250 sec
diffuse off-camera flash
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