''Barycnemis blediator'' is a small

parasitic wasp Parasitoid wasps are a large group of hymenopteran superfamilies, with all but the wood wasps ( Orussoidea) being in the wasp-waisted Apocrita. As parasitoids, they lay their eggs on or in the bodies of other arthropods, sooner or later causi ...

. It lays its eggs in the

larva A larva (; : larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into their next life stage. Animals with indirect development such as insects, some arachnids, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase ...

e of the

salt marsh A salt marsh, saltmarsh or salting, also known as a coastal salt marsh or a tidal marsh, is a coastal ecosystem in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and open saltwater or brackish water that is regularly flooded by the tides. I ...

rove beetle The rove beetles are a family (biology), family (Staphylinidae) of beetles, primarily distinguished by their short elytra (wing covers) that typically leave more than half of their abdominal segments exposed. With over 66,000 species in thousand ...

, ''

Bledius spectabilis ''Bledius spectabilis'', commonly known as the magnificent salt beetle, is a species of small rove beetle. Description This beetle is 5 to 7 millimetres long and has brightly coloured legs. The wing covers are brownish and as wide as they are lo ...

'', which shows unusual behaviour for an insect in that it actively protects its young from the wasp.

References

Ichneumonidae Insects described in 1970 {{Ichneumonidae-stub