Скачать или смотреть Ichneumon wasp long ovipositor in action

The order Hymenoptera includes classical social insects (ants, wasps, bumblebees) but also many "solitary" species, mostly parasitoids, in which the females lay eggs in living creatures that will serve as food after the eggs hatch.

In this video a female ichneumon uses its ovipositor to attempt to reach a larva it has detected within an old plank.

The ovipositor of this insect appears as a long and thin appendix in the prolongation of the abdomen. This ovipositor consists of a long, thin hollow stylet protected, at rest, by a sheath.
During egg laying, the stylet of the ovipositor is released from its sheath and the insect pushes it into a tiny hole that it spotted in the plate containing the larva to "parasitize".
The sheath is animated by oscillating movements which help to balance the insect and help the ovipositor to progress towards its target.

Note: The stinger of bees, wasps and other bumblebees has a structure similar to that of ovipositor but does not participate in reproduction process. The stinger only plays a role of defense.

Filmed in Saint-Bruno-de-Kamouraska (Quebec), September 22, 2021.

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