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Spider silk felting-functional morphology of the ovipositor tip of Clistopyga sp (Ichneumonidae) reveals a novel use of the hymenopteran ovipositor




TekijätFritzen NR, Saaksjarvi IE

KustantajaROYAL SOC

Julkaisuvuosi2016

JournalBiology Letters

Tietokannassa oleva lehden nimiBIOLOGY LETTERS

Lehden akronyymiBIOL LETTERS

Artikkelin numeroARTN 20160350

Vuosikerta12

Numero8

Sivujen määrä4

ISSN1744-9561

eISSN1744-957X

DOIhttps://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.



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