Strand hopes that a better understanding of these wasps will lead to their use in biological pest control. Parasitic wasps lay their eggs inside the caterpillar-like larval stage of other insects. The larva acts as an incubator for the wasp egg and then supports the growing wasp after it hatches. After supporting a growing parasite, the host insect rarely survives to adulthood. Strand says there are many instances in nature where parasitic wasps provide natural pest control.
Some wasp species have a little microbial help in carrying out their reproductive missions.
The virus in question is a type of polydnavirus, a group of insect viruses discovered in the mid-1970s. Scientists found the virus particles hiding out in calyx fluid, which Strand describes as bright blue goop, in the wasps' ovaries. He says the calyx fluid is almost entirely made up of virus particles. Strand says in this arrangement, both the wasp and the virus benefit. The wasp needs the virus to keep the host insect's immune system in check and the virus needs the wasp in order to survive.