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Coccophagus gurneyi Photography by Max E. Badgley (1922-2006)
Coccophagus gurneyi has unusual host relationships that are sex-related. Females are diploid (with a full set of genetic material, consisting of paired chromosomes one chromosome from each parental set) and develop internally within the mealybugs they prey upon. Males, in contrast, are haploid (a single set of chromosomes, or half the full set of genetic material that females possess), and hyperparasitic (parasitizing other parasitoids), developing on primary parasitoid larvae within the mealybugs. Text compiled and edited by J.Cates, curator |
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