Deep black, eyes green; head, front legs, and apex of the petiolate abdomen mussel-brown.

[8] It pupates in a cocoon attached to the leg of the living ladybird, whose brightly colored body and occasional twitching reduce predation.

[9] A growing D. coccinellae wasp nestled in its cocoon is extremely vulnerable, and other insects will devour it.

[10] However, wasp cocoons protected in this way develop into adults that produce fewer eggs, due to the energy demands of maintaining a living protector.

The wingless females of G. agilis oviposit into D. coccinellae cocoons; the egg immediately hatches and consumes the developing wasp.