Baculovirus-like particles in the reproductive tracts of female parasitoid wasps.

Virus-like particles have been found in specific regions of the reproductive tracts of three different braconid wasps, all parasitoids of the tobacco budworm, Heliothis virescens. The particles are nuclear in origin, and Feulgen cytochemistry of particulate fluid in the calyx and oviducts of one species has revealed the presence of DNA. On the basis of apparent structural homologies, it is suggested that the parasitoid particles are related to baculoviruses.