Hi Haneesh, Parasitism is a ongoing warfare between hosts and parasites. So you may like to call these incidents as "Parasitism" by parasites or parasitoids - not infections. Infections imply intra-tissue or body system infection by bacteria or protozoa. Here there is creation of cavity and injected placement of eggs inside. Like the film series "Aliens".
BTW the difference between parasite & parasitoid (courtesy Wikipedia articles on both): PARASITE : Parasitism is a type of symbiotic relationship between organisms of different species where one organism, the parasite, benefits at the expense of the other, the host. Traditionally parasite referred to organisms with lifestages that went beyond one host (e.g. Taenia solium), which are now called macroparasites (typically protozoa and helminths). Parasites can now also refer to microparasites, which are typically smaller, such asviruses and bacteria and can be directly transmitted between hosts of one species. PARASITOID : A parasitoid is an organism that spends a significant portion of its life history attached to or within a single host organism, which it ultimately kills (and often consumes) in the process. Thus they are similar to typical parasites except in the certain fate of the host. I have myself seen this in Common Banded Awl though I could not get photograph of the wasp involved. See : http://thebutterflydiaries.wordpress.com/2007/10/07/pirated-pupas-of-the-common-banded-awl/ Warm regards, Ashwin Baindur ________________________________ From: haneesh km <[email protected]> To: butterflyindia <[email protected]> Sent: Fri, 7 January, 2011 21:42:54 Subject: [ButterflyIndia] Another Infection Story hi friends, I am attaching the ant like wasps emerged from a Common Lascar (Pantoporia hordonia) pupa. Cheers haneesh -- Enjoy
