I found this remarkable but tiny object a couple of weeks ago when checking out some Buff-tip moth caterpillars on a small willow tree, but I’ve delayed posting about it until I had confirmation of identification.

The situation is this: a female Aleiodes wasp (species unknown) laid her egg in a caterpillar (species also unknown). When the egg hatched, it fed inside the caterpillar, eventually leaving the skin of the caterpillar hardened, in a state many people describe as a ‘mummy’, which is why the Aleiodes wasps are commonly referred to as mummy wasps. The wasp larva pupates inside the mummy, and will eventually bite a hole in the outer skin to emerge as an adult. As I was intrigued to see what might emerge, I’ve brought this mummy home, and it’s currently in a jar on my kitchen window. If/when something emerges, I’ll post about it.

There’s an image on Bug Guide website that looks quite similar to the mummy I found, and another on Jungle Dragon, where you can see the exit hole made by the adult wasp (or wasps) when it/they emerged from pupation.