Wasps are a common sight, and sometimes pain, here in Arizona. They are stinging insects which are related to the bees and ants. Sometimes they even look like bees (the yellow jacket wasp) and like ants (the velvet ant wasp). We are most familiar with rather large wasps, but one very tiny wasp is a particularly valuable, though rarely observed "Buddy Bug".

The Trichogramma wasp (Trichogramma minutum) is as an adult less than one millimeter in length. Its value lies in its habit of parasitizing the eggs of many agriculturally destructive worms and caterpillars. This wasp seeks out the eggs of moths. It then pierces the moth egg and deposits its own tiny egg inside the ones of the larger, destructive insect. When the wasp egg hatches, the wasp larva feeds on, and kills, the developing moth larva.

In order to maximize the benefits of this tiny insect, the trichogramma are commercially mass bred and periodically released. They are used to control the numbers of corn earworms, corn borers, cabbage loopers, codling moths, pecan nut casebearers, greenhouse leaf tiers, cabbage worms, and tomato hornworms. Organic apple growers in particular, use Trichogramma minutum to help ensure worm-free apples.