My Enemy’s Enemy

The Balcha wasp may end up being a tree lover's friend.  That's because it may prey on the emerald ash borer.

The ash borer is an invasive species, believed to have snuck into North America in wooden packing material.  The metallic-green beetle, originally from Asia, has devastated ash tree populations in Michigan, Ohio and Ontario.

Biologists have been searching for natural enemies of the ash borer.  They think they have found one in the Balcha wasp.

U.S. Forest Service and Michigan State University researchers discovered the potentially beneficial wasps in a study plot in Livonia, Michigan.  Scientists at the Agriculture Research Service later identified the insects as belonging to a genus that feeds on the larvae of the ash borer. 

The above image is a manual montage.  The specimen is dissected, photographed, and then reassembled with Photoshop. 

-- LiveScience Staff

Credit: Klaus Bolte