0 the covering made of soft, smooth threads that surrounds and protects particular insects during the pupa stage as they develop into adult form
2 to protect someone or something from pain or an unpleasant situation:
3 the silky covering that encloses and protects caterpillars (= a type of insect) during a stage in their lives before they develop into adults
However, adult eclosion did not always occur from cocoons derived from hosts that had been parasitized at the later time points.
Six days later the female was supplied with similar cocoons and with one not covered with strawboard.
However, second and fourth instars were also readily attacked, together contributing almost 50% of the final number of parasitoid cocoons produced.
Under natural conditions, most cocoons were found in the upper 1 cm of sand within a radius of 500 cm from the nest.
The host larvae hatched, entered the apples, and when fully fed, emerged and made their cocoons.
Therefore, a second set of parasitized cocoons was left intact until the seventh day after oviposition and then carefully opened.
Parasitized cocoons were put into a climate chamber immediately after the female completed oviposition.
The cocoons were transferred to ventilated plastic containers for adult emergence and mating.