Butterfly Parasitoids and Human Parasitiods

Parasitioids devour butterfly and moth eggs, caterpillars, and/or chrysalises from the inside out.

This chalcid wasp is interested in a soft White Peacock butterfly Anartia jatrophae chrysalis.

The parasitoid lays eggs in or on an egg, caterpillar, or chrysalis. These eggs hatch and the resulting parasitoid larvae eat the guts of the butterfly (or moth) egg, caterpillar, chrysalis, or adult. The parasitoid (depending upon which one) changes into a pupa and emerges as a maggot or adult from the butterfly egg, caterpillar, or chrysalis. The butterfly inside no longer exists.



There are many parasitoids. For example; trichogramma wasps eat the guts of eggs (these are emerging from a Giant Swallowtail egg Papilio cresphontes,

tachinid flies

and chalcid wasps eat the guts of chrysalises.

This yellow chalcid wasp emerged from a Cloudless Sulphur chrysalis Phoebis sennae. It looks like a Conura amoena. As soon as they emerge as adults, these parasitiods seek other butterflies and moths to infect to continue their lifecycle.

My mind meandered while I was photographing some of these little critters, making webpages for them, and creating presentations for churches.

I realized there are parasitoids for humans. There are things that eat us up from the inside out.

I couldn't help but think of a couple of bible verses as my mind started identifying human parasitoids.

A partial list of human parasitoids: envy, pride, slanderous tongue, deceit, greed, strife, backbiting, malice, boastful, sewing discord, fits of rage, and selfish ambition. (Verses are listed below with a more complete list of human parasitoids.)

I had to look inside myself to identify which of these are working to kill the Spirit within me. Some of these parasitoids have never entered me at all. Others work full time as I learn to identify them and to remove them from inside me.

When I see parasitiods they remind me to examine myself and pray for God's help. God can show me which parasitoids are doing their work inside me.

They don't stop in me; as these things radiate from me, they try to infect other humans.

I need to remove the parasitoids that infect me for the sake of others and for myself.

~ Edith

NIV Bible Verses about 'Human Parasitoids'

Mark 7: 2-23 "He went on: "What comes out of a man is what makes him 'unclean.' For from within, out of men's hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and make a man 'unclean.' "

Romans 1: 29-31 "They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them."

Galations 5; 19-21 "The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God."