Role of Virus-like Particles in Parasitoid-Host Interaction of Insects

A large number of hymenopteran wasp species are endoparasitoids that lay their eggs inside lepidopteran caterpillars. A basic question in this parasitoid-host interaction is: How are the eggs of the parasitoid protected against the immune reaction of the host? At least in some systems, the protection is apparently specific, as the host is still able to react toward other implanted foreign bodies while the eggs and larvae of the parasitoid are developing and feeding in the body cavity of the living caterpillar (Salt, 1968).