A1 Vertaisarvioitu alkuperäisartikkeli tieteellisessä lehdessä
Spider silk felting-functional morphology of the ovipositor tip of Clistopyga sp (Ichneumonidae) reveals a novel use of the hymenopteran ovipositor
Tekijät: Fritzen NR, Saaksjarvi IE
Kustantaja: ROYAL SOC
Julkaisuvuosi: 2016
Journal: Biology Letters
Tietokannassa oleva lehden nimi: BIOLOGY LETTERS
Lehden akronyymi: BIOL LETTERS
Artikkelin numero: ARTN 20160350
Vuosikerta: 12
Numero: 8
Sivujen määrä: 4
ISSN: 1744-9561
eISSN: 1744-957X
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2016.0350
Tiivistelmä
Apical serrations of the hymenopteran ovipositor have been widely postulated to originally constitute adaptations for cutting through hard substrates. Simplifications of the ovipositor tip have occurred in several ichneumonid wasp genera associated with spiders. Despite such reduction in Clistopyga (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae), the ovipositor still possesses some apical serrations. Through the first detailed study, we believe, on the behaviour of an ovipositing Clistopyga species, we show that it can alter its ovipositor for different purposes and that the primary function of the apical serrations is clinging to its spider host as the spider attempts to escape. Intriguingly, we also discover a hitherto undocumented adaptation for the hymenopteran ovipositor. The female wasp seals openings in the silken spider nest by using its ovipositor on the silk in a highly sophisticated way that is comparable to how humans entangle wool by needle felting. By studying the ovipositor morphology through a scanning electron microscope, we elucidate how this works, and we hypothesize that by closing the nest the female wasp protects its developing kin.
Apical serrations of the hymenopteran ovipositor have been widely postulated to originally constitute adaptations for cutting through hard substrates. Simplifications of the ovipositor tip have occurred in several ichneumonid wasp genera associated with spiders. Despite such reduction in Clistopyga (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae), the ovipositor still possesses some apical serrations. Through the first detailed study, we believe, on the behaviour of an ovipositing Clistopyga species, we show that it can alter its ovipositor for different purposes and that the primary function of the apical serrations is clinging to its spider host as the spider attempts to escape. Intriguingly, we also discover a hitherto undocumented adaptation for the hymenopteran ovipositor. The female wasp seals openings in the silken spider nest by using its ovipositor on the silk in a highly sophisticated way that is comparable to how humans entangle wool by needle felting. By studying the ovipositor morphology through a scanning electron microscope, we elucidate how this works, and we hypothesize that by closing the nest the female wasp protects its developing kin.
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