Wasp Rider: Reproduction, Characteristics And Is It Dangerous To Humans

Page content

• Appearance
• Spread
• Life cycle and mechanism of influence on the victim
• Varieties
• You can defeat parasites!

The wasp wasp is the general name for the family of insects of the suborder Stalk-bellied, of which there are more than one hundred thousand species.

Are wasps-wasps dangerous for humans, or parasitic wasps, as they are called in English-language literature? As a rule, they do not have a sting, but the bite of some species can be very painful, for example, one of these species is pompilids, which secrete a strong poison.

What to do in such a situation? To get started, we recommend reading this article. This article details the methods of dealing with parasites. We also recommend contacting a specialist. Read the article >>>

These insects can rightfully be considered as parasites with features of predators, parasitizing on insect pests that destroy crops. This is useful for human economic activities, as it allows the use of less toxic chemicals.

Appearance

The sizes of the insect range from a millimeter to several centimeters, their color is also very diverse: there are black, brown, red, striped wasps, etc.

The photo clearly shows what this insect looks like and its characteristic feature: a huge ovipositor, sometimes exceeding the length of the body, an elongated abdomen, well-developed wings and long antennae.

Insect appearance

Spread

The parasite prefers rather warm habitats with high air humidity, therefore it is found most often near bodies of water, where there are a lot of herbs and greenery. Representatives of this family are found almost all over the world.

Life cycle and mechanism of influence on the victim

The wasp wasp is a solitary insect; it makes itself a nest directly in the ground or in the stems of plants or the bark of trees. Its lifespan is usually short: in females - about a month, and in males - no more than 10 days. In some species, the larvae can overwinter in the body of the prey host and pupate only in spring.

Most of the adults are not carnivores, that is, they do not feed on other insects; for some species, nectar is used as food. But the larvae can be considered true parasites, given how reproduction takes place.

Females of wasps lay eggs on the bodies or larvae of ants, wasps, beetles, caterpillars, spiders, and even scorpions, which the hatching larvae feed on. In the process of laying eggs, the female of the parasite is located on top of her prey, resembling a rider on a horse, which gave the name to this whole family.

The process of laying eggs in the bodies of other insects

This parasitic insect has an amazing instinct, which allows it, even through the thickness of the tree bark, to feel whether there are beetle larvae on which eggs can be laid.

Laying their eggs on the victim's body, the females inject a paralyzing poison into it, turning it into a “zombie”. It takes less than a day for about two dozen larvae to hatch on the victim, and only a few days for them to go through all stages of development.

During this entire period, they feed on the body of their "owner", while maintaining the vitality of his organism; he dies from exhaustion only before the time comes for the larvae to pupate.

Varieties

Megarissa pearl. A very rare species, it is under state protection. It lives mainly in forests. The color is orange, with white and black stripes on the abdomen. The thin, rigid ovipositor is twice the length of the abdomen and can even penetrate tree trunks

Megarhyssa perlata

Mutillides are represented by about 4 thousand varieties. The habitat is mainly in the steppe regions. In males larger than females (their length is up to 3 cm), the color is dark brown or black, in the female - orange or bright red with black blotches. The body is covered with thick long hairs. Females do not have wings, so they are called velvet ants. Unlike other species, they have a long sting, with which they fight the owners of the nests, where they are going to lay eggs in their larvae

Mutillidae

Pompilids, or road wasps, are found in almost all regions of the world, but they especially like hot climates. There are up to 4900 species of them. Their brown or black body is up to 4 cm long, and females pull their ovipositor into an elongated narrow abdomen. The second name is explained by the fact that they arrange their burrows near the roads. For laying eggs, females use large spiders

Pompilidae or Psammocharidae

Crabronids, or sand wasps, make their nests in the sand. Of more than 8 thousand representatives of this species, about 600 are found in Europe. In appearance, due to black and yellow stripes, as well as small (up to 2 cm) size, they resemble simple wasps, have the same well-formed wings and short antennae

Crabronidae

Scephids are represented by 800 species that live mainly in warm climates. Their dark body reaches up to 6 cm in length. They build nests in the sand or sculpt on the walls of buildings. To lay eggs, the female finds a prey, paralyzes it and transfers it to her nest

Scefidae

Betilids are represented by 1800 species, about a hundred of which are found in Europe. Their narrow body is 1-10 mm long, wings are absent, so they are sometimes mistaken for ants. Pests such as cotton moth and grape leafworm become their victims and a breeding ground for larvae

Bethylidae

Scolias are rather large specimens for wasppeople: their body length is from 2 to 10 cm, and their wingspan is up to 6 cm. Their habitat is predominantly in the tropics, but sometimes they are also found in forest-steppe zones. The body is black, with light stripes and spots on the abdomen; the wings are purple. Reproduction begins in May, and the female finds larvae of May beetles, weevils or rhinoceros beetles in the soil and makes a clutch on them. The larvae overwinter in the body of the prey, and pupation occurs in the spring

Scoliidae

The emerald cockroach wasp is found mainly in the tropics. For laying eggs, the female uses a cockroach, before turning it into a real "zombie" with its bite. She drags a weak-willed cockroach by its mustache into a previously prepared burrow, where it lays eggs in its body, and when the larvae hatch from the eggs, they feed on a live, but paralyzed cockroach from the inside

Ampulex compressa

Trichogramma is a microscopic variety, there are up to 200 species. The body is brown or black, dense, with antennae. Distributed on agricultural plantations

Trichogramma evanescens

The rider is yellow, 1.5-2 cm in size, lives in forest glades and meadows. Most often found in summer and autumn

Ophion luteus