The host of this species is a moth caterpillar that feeds on Eucalyptus leaves. It has an extremely long ovipositor, a needle-like structure the female wasps use to inject their eggs into their host.

But size is relative to a host caterpillar, it's an awesome predator,' Ms Fagan-Jeffries says.ĭolichogenidea xenomorph has been collected from Queanbeyan, New South Wales and in southern Western Australia, but likely has a wider distribution across Australia. 'At less than 5mm in length, Dolichogenidea xenomorph might seem to lack the punch of its fearsome namesake. In their natural environment, these wasps play important roles in regulating the populations of their insect hosts, and have been used in agricultural crops to control caterpillar pests.

Parasitoid wasps are said to have inspired the creation of the Xenomorph alien in the movie franchise.

'The wasp is also black and shiny like the alien, and has a couple of weird traits for the genus - so xenomorph, meaning 'strange form', fits really well.' ' Dolichogenidea xenomorph acts as a parasite in caterpillars in a similar way that the fictional Alien creature does in its human host,' says lead researcher Erinn Fagan-Jeffries, PhD student in the University's School of Biological Sciences. The wasp is one of three newly documented wasps that are parasitoids - parasites which must kill their host to complete their lifecycle. The wasp larvae then change into adult wasps and continue the hunt for more caterpillars in which to lay their eggs. The new species, Dolichogenidea xenomorph, injects its eggs into live caterpillars and the baby wasp larvae slowly eat the caterpillar from the inside out, bursting out once they have eaten their fill.

Download xenomorph mixed with predator