Wasp parasitising ladybird. Dinocampus coccinellae wasp larva (yellow) burrowing out of a paralysed ladybird. The adult wasp lays its eggs inside an adult ladybird. The egg hatches into a larva, which lives inside the ladybird, where it removes the ladybirds own eggs and feeds on its fat bodies and gonads. Once matured the larva paralyses the ladybird and burrows out. It then pupates in a cocoon attached to the underside of the still-living ladybird, whose brightly colored body and occasional twitching reduce predation. Once matured, the adult wasp emerges from the cocoon. About 25 per cent of ladybirds recover after the cocoon matures.