Скачать или смотреть Wasp Eating a Chrysalis

Wasps are only one of many natural predators of defenseless chrysalis. Once the wasp found this particular chrysalis it didn't take much time break into the interior and then remove small bits, piece by piece, and take them to its nest. In this case the butterfly had to be reasonably well developed so the wasp could remove solid parts of the butterfly.

In the wild this is one of the reasons that chrysalis have to be well hidden or camouflaged so that wasps like these can't find them. Other wasps and insects deposit their eggs inside the chrysalis. They hatch and eat the developing butterfly.

Of course, at Pierella Ecological Garden where we raise butterflies you can understand why it is important to keep the adults, eggs, and caterpillars protected. There are regulations also for growers that stipulate that they can only release 10 % of the adult butterflies. Otherwise the populations would grow out of control.