Insect Predators

Butterflies and moths are fair game for a variety of insects, birds and bats. Here are some insects that specialise in preying on them.

  Ichneumen Fly

  Wasp Pteromalus puparum

  Wasp Apanteles glomeratus

Ichneumen Fly

A distinctive looking insect, with its slender body and long ovipositor. The ovipositor is used to penetrate the caterpillars skin and pass down an egg.

The egg hatchs and the ichneumen larva feeds on the caterpillar, eventually killing it.

Wasp Apanteles glomeratus  

One of the main killer of butterflies is this little wasp. The wasp lays its eggs in the caterpillar, and prevents it from turning into a chrysalis.

The larvae feed on the caterpillar, then bore out of the caterpillar's body and form small yellow cocoons next to it.

Wasp Pteromalus puparum  

A small wasp that only predates on the pupa stage of a butterfly. It finds caterpillars that are just going through their final shedding and changing into a pupa.

Before the pupa's skin has hardened, the wasp will insert it eggs into it. The larvae feed on the pupa's contents.