Parasitoid Wasps (wild) can't be bought. The way to get more in the garden is to create the right conditions, and here's how.
What does it look like?
Most parasitoid wasps are tiny and rarely noticed directly; the sign to look for is the aphid, not the wasp. Adult females of several genera, including Aphidius, Praon, Aphelinus and Lysiphlebus, lay a single egg inside an aphid. The egg hatches into a grub that feeds inside the aphid and eventually kills it, usually by eating its contents, then pupates inside the empty body. By this stage the aphid has turned whitish-brown and swollen, an 'aphid mummy', and the adult wasp emerges through a hole it cuts in the mummy's skin.
How to encourage it
Most pesticides, including organic ones, kill parasitoid wasps along with the aphids they're aimed at, so spraying undoes the predator you're trying to attract.
Plant these near the crops that need help:
- Alyssum: grown near a crop, its nectar and pollen attract aphid predators including parasitoid wasps.
- Calendula: grown among vegetables, it helps attract predatory insects and increases pollination.
- Poached-egg plant: grown among vegetables as part of a mixed planting, it helps attract beneficial predators.
What it helps control
Don't confuse this wild parasitoid wasp with Encarsia formosa, a specific species ordered by post for whitefly control. Same broad insect group, opposite approach: one arrives on its own, the other comes in the post.
Myths about parasitoid wasps (wild)
4 common claims about parasitoid wasps (wild), checked: 3 busted1 disputed0 untested0 hold up
“Spraying an aphid infestation with pesticide, even an organic one, won't harm the parasitoid wasps also working on those aphids”
Most pesticides, organic ones included, don't discriminate between the aphid being targeted and the parasitoid wasp attacking it, since both are insects exposed to the same spray. Reducing pesticide use, rather than choosing a supposedly safer product, is the advice given for protecting these natural enemies.
Our read Products marketed as organic or plant-derived aren't automatically selective. The determining factor is exposure, not origin, so a wasp larva developing inside a sprayed aphid is killed along with its host regardless of what the spray is made from.
What to do: Hold off spraying where aphid numbers are moderate and natural enemies, including parasitoid wasps, are already present; if you do need to intervene, spot-treat the worst-affected shoots rather than blanket-spraying the whole plant.
2 sources
- RHS: AphidsMost pesticides, including organic types, reduce biodiversity and harm natural enemies such as parasitoid wasps alongside other wider environmental effects.
- RHS: Aphid predatorsThe RHS does not support pesticide use and recommends non-chemical control, noting that avoiding pesticides helps attract predators such as parasitoid wasps to gardens.
“Since the wasp larvae feed inside aphids or caterpillars, planting flowers makes no real difference to attracting parasitoid wasps”
Only the larval stage is parasitic. Adult parasitoid wasps feed on nectar and pollen, so a bed with no flowers gives them nothing to live on even where host insects are abundant. Companion planting aimed at pest predators is built specifically around this adult feeding requirement.
What to do: Grow nectar- and pollen-rich flowers such as alyssum, calendula or poached-egg plant near vegetable crops rather than relying on pest presence alone to hold parasitoid wasps in the garden.
2 sources
- RHS: Companion plantingCompanion planting works partly by providing nectar- and pollen-rich flowers that attract insects which parasitise or prey on unwanted insects, and alyssum grown with lettuce has been shown to reduce aphid populations by attracting these natural predators.
- Garden Organic: Companion or mixed plantingCoriander and fennel flowers, Californian poppy, poached-egg plant and calendula, grown among vegetables, are recommended for supporting predatory insects through a season-long supply of pollen and nectar.
“If parasitoid wasps were controlling pests in your garden, you'd notice the wasps flying around the way you notice other wasps”
The wasp itself is rarely what gives its presence away. What's visible is the aftermath on the host: a parasitised aphid swells and turns a whitish brown, an 'aphid mummy', with a neat exit hole where the adult wasp has cut its way out. Gardeners checking for parasitoid wasp activity are better off looking at the aphids on a leaf than watching for the wasps themselves.
What to do: Check aphid colonies for swollen, tan-brown mummies rather than looking for the wasp in flight; finding mummies among live aphids is the sign that natural control is already under way and spraying isn't yet needed.
1 source
- RHS: Aphid predatorsA parasitised aphid becomes whitish brown with a characteristic inflated appearance, known as an aphid mummy, and the adult parasitoid wasp emerges through a hole cut in the aphid's body.
“Aphids on a crop need spraying straight away or the infestation will spiral out of control”
Immediate spraying is standard instinct but not the only recommended response. Guidance on aphid control favours tolerating a moderate infestation for a period so that natural enemies, parasitoid wasps among them, have time to build up and bring numbers down without chemical input. This doesn't hold for every situation: a heavy infestation on a small or already-stressed plant can still need faster intervention.
Our read The disagreement isn't really between sources so much as between the general recommendation and specific bad cases; treat 'wait and see' as the default and fast intervention as the exception for vulnerable plants, not the other way round.
What to do: On established plants, monitor for a week or two before acting. If ladybird larvae, hoverfly larvae or aphid mummies are already present, hold off spraying and let them work; reserve immediate action for young or weak plants carrying a heavy infestation.
1 source
- RHS: AphidsThe RHS recommends encouraging natural enemies of aphids, including parasitoid wasps, and notes that if gardeners wait a while these predators will often give the control needed.
Frequently asked questions
Can I buy parasitoid wasps (wild)?
Not usefully: parasitoid wasps (wild) released into a garden with nothing to hold them there simply leave. Creating the right habitat and food source is what actually keeps a population around; see "How to encourage it" above.
How do I know if parasitoid wasps (wild) are actually helping?
Watch the pest population, not the predator count: fewer aphids, brown scale, beet leaf miner over a few weeks is the real sign, not how many parasitoid wasps (wild) you can spot on a given day.
Sources
4 sources, recorded with what each was used for
- RHS: For Aphids: RHS names parasitoid wasps among aphid predators and recommends encouraging natural enemies.
- RHS: Alyssum's nectar and pollen attract predators of aphids.
- RHS: RHS's dedicated aphid predators page: how several parasitoid wasp genera (Aphidius, Praon, Aphelinus, Lysiphlebus) lay eggs inside aphids, and how the resulting 'aphid mummy' forms and the adult wasp emerges.
- Garden Organic: Coriander and fennel flowers, Californian poppy, poached-egg plant and calendula, mixed in among vegetables, are named as flowers that support predatory insects; calendula is specifically also credited with increasing pollination.