''Lysibia nana'' is a

hyperparasitoid A hyperparasite, also known as a metaparasite, is a parasite whose host, often an insect, is also a parasite, often specifically a parasitoid. Hyperparasites are found mainly among the wasp-waisted Apocrita within the Hymenoptera, and in two ...

wasp that attacks the

parasitoid wasp Parasitoid wasps are a large group of hymenopteran superfamilies, with all but the wood wasps (Orussoidea) being in the wasp-waisted Apocrita. As parasitoids, they lay their eggs on or in the bodies of other arthropods, sooner or later causin ...

Cotesia glomerata ''Cotesia glomerata'', the white butterfly parasite, is a small parasitoid wasp species belonging to family Braconidae. It was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 publication 10th edition of Systema Naturae. Description The adults ...

''. ''L. nana'' reproduces sexually and only infects hosts in the family

Braconidae The Braconidae are a family of parasitoid wasps. After the closely related Ichneumonidae, braconids make up the second-largest family in the order Hymenoptera, with about 17,000 recognized species and many thousands more undescribed. One analysis ...

. Adult females of this species do not feed from their host, but rather rely on sources of nectar in their environment. ''L. nana'' females find hosts by detecting chemical signals, such as

kairomones A kairomone (a coinage using the Greek καιρός ''opportune moment'', paralleling pheromone"kairomone, n.". OED Online. September 2012. Oxford University Press. http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/241005?redirectedFrom=kairomone (accessed 3 Octobe ...

(usually intra-specific pheromones of the host) or herbivore-induced plant volatiles (HIPVs) that are released by plants when they are attacked by

herbivore A herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically adapted to eating plant material, for example foliage or marine algae, for the main component of its diet. As a result of their plant diet, herbivorous animals typically have mouthpart ...

s. Females are attracted to plants that have been attacked by caterpillars infected by ''C. glomerata''. Once a suitable host has been found, the ''L. nana'' female lays an egg in a ''C. glomerata'' larva.

References

* Ichneumonidae Hyperparasites {{Ichneumonidae-stub