Specialized ovipositor sensilla of Cretaceous wasps (Insecta: Hymenoptera) possibly reveal a unique way of host detection.

Wang, Zhen; Vilhelmsen, Lars; Rasnitsyn, Alexandr P; Viertler, Alexandra; Shih, Chungkun; Wen, Shanshan; Yang, Hongru; Wu, Qiong; Zhang, Yanjie; Ren, Dong; Gao, Taiping (2024). Specialized ovipositor sensilla of Cretaceous wasps (Insecta: Hymenoptera) possibly reveal a unique way of host detection. (In Press). Cladistics Wiley 10.1111/cla.12579

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Insects have evolved complex sensory systems that are important for feeding, defence and reproduction. Parasitoid wasps often spend much time and effort in searching for concealed hosts with the help of specialized sensilla. However, the early evolution of such behaviour and sensilla is poorly known. We describe two fossil female wasps, †Tichostephanus kachinensis sp. nov. and †Tichostephanus longus sp. nov., from mid-Cretaceous Kachin amber. Phylogenetic analyses based on morphological data retrieved †Tichostephanus as deeply nested within Evanioidea and closely related to extant Gasteruptiidae and Evaniidae. Both of these Cretaceous wasps possess features, e.g. coronal tubercles and flexible ovipositor sheaths, that indicate that they might have laid eggs in wood where their larvae possibly parasitized insect larvae. They have a peculiar and unique 'bottle brush' of sensilla close to the apex of their ovipositor sheaths, which has not been observed in any extant parasitoid wasps. These sensilla comprise many regularly arranged plate-shaped setae, attached in relatively large sockets and with rows of longitudinal ridges. Such specialized sensilla perhaps served to enhance the ability to detect hosts inside wood.

Item Type:

Journal Article (Original Article)

Division/Institute:

08 Faculty of Science > Department of Biology > Institute of Ecology and Evolution (IEE)
08 Faculty of Science > Department of Biology > Institute of Ecology and Evolution (IEE) > Aquatic Ecology

UniBE Contributor:

Viertler, Alexandra Martina

Subjects:

500 Science > 570 Life sciences; biology

ISSN:

1096-0031

Publisher:

Wiley

Language:

English

Submitter:

Pubmed Import

Date Deposited:

08 May 2024 11:04

Last Modified:

09 May 2024 15:25

Publisher DOI:

10.1111/cla.12579

PubMed ID:

38712908

BORIS DOI:

10.48350/196604

URI:

https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/196604

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