Cotesia urabae is a small (2.5–3.2 mm long) wasp, having a black body with yellow-brown legs, characterized by a solitary larval endoparasitoid stage (Austin and Allen, 1989).

It is part of a large complex of 11 primary parasitoids of Uraba lugens Walker, many of which are polyphagous (Allen, 1990a, 1990b).

Once the C. urabae larvae emerges from the host larvae, a tightly woven sulphur-yellow pupal cocoon in a loose surrounding silk matrix is spun by C. urabae to pupate alongside the host (Allen, 1990a).

Cotesia urabae was introduced in New Zealand in 2011 as a biological control agent against the eucalyptus pest Uraba lugens, commonly known as the gum leaf skeletoniser (Avila et al. 2013).

It has been predicted that C. urabae will lead to a considerable decrease on the existing population of U. lugens, along with providing several social and economic benefits (Avila et al. 2013).