This harmless insect parasitizes the Sarcophaga (flesh fly) pupae. Females usually lay 30–50 eggs in the pupae, which provide food for the Nasonia larvae when they hatch.

• This harmless wasp develops inside the pupa of the Sarcophaga fly
• Pupae are easily sexable, making picking virgins for crosses extremely easy
• Refrigerate to halt development at any point
• Observe mutants without a dissecting scope

Adults will emerge in approximately fourteen days. Nasonia are also easy to handle in the lab because they don’t sting or bite, and they are not prone to flying away without warning.

Commonly called the jewel wasp,Nasonia are better and more interesting study subjects for several reasons. Mutants are observable without dissecting scopes. They are easily sexed in either the pupal (thus ensuring virgin females) or adult stage. They tend not to fly like Drosophila. You can arrest their life cycle using refrigeration to work around your class schedule. Haploid males make all crosses appear sex-linked. They exhibit ritualistic courtship and mating behaviors. They have a parasitic life cycle. They are easy to culture and maintain.
You can use Nasonia to teach topics covering scientific method and techniques, genetics, behavior, selective advantage and biotechnology. You can study the world of Nasonia through the Nasonia Project, a comprehensive set of inquiry-based lab activities available only from WARD’S.