The Babysitter that always gets murdered

This Sphinx Moth caterpillar obviously has quite the burden on its shoulders - unwanted baby wasps. This gruesome tale all starts when a female parasitic wasp (from the wasp family "Braconidae") uses a syringe-like tool to lay her eggs beneath the surface of a caterpillar's skin. The eggs will eventually hatch and the baby wasps will eat their way out of the caterpillar's body. Once they have emerged from the caterpillar's innards they form white cocoons (shown in the picture above) where they will stay until they finish developing into little wasps. When ready, they will break open the tops of the cocoons and fly away. Bad news for the victim caterpillars however, as they perish in the process.

I found this guy munching on some leaves a couple of summers ago and was intrigued to photograph something so unique. Though it may seem sad from the Sphinx Moth's point of view, it is almost impossible to not be fascinated by the wasps and their strange way of hatching and growing.