Many insects use their ovipositor as a tool, which
allows them to excavate through a substrate and deposit their eggs in a suitable and safe place
. A notable example is the ovipositor of a grasshopper. Extending beyond the tip of the abdomen, the ovipositor is comprised of two pairs of shovel-shaped structures.
How does an ovipositor work?
The ovipositor is attached to the abdomen of insects and the eggs pass down the tube. In parasitoids the ovipositor can be
used to pierce the skin of another animal
, such as a caterpillar, and the egg of the parasitoid can then be laid inside the host organism.
What advantages does ovipositor provide the insect?
Ovipositor is the egg laying organ in female insects. It involves the process of insects laying their eggs on a plant or soil surface that is safe and most likely to allow their offspring to survive. This helps with
pollination
, a process that insects contribute greatly towards and leads to enhanced plant growth.
What is the meaning of word ovipositor?
:
a specialized organ (as of an insect) for depositing eggs
— see insect illustration.
Where Is The ovipositor on a grasshopper?
In grasshoppers the ovipositor is a highly specialized structure comprising heavy cuticular appendages, hinges and large muscles. It
extends beyond the tip of the female abdomen
, where it appears externally as two pairs of shovel-shaped structures called ovipositor valves.
What is ovipositor in insect?
The ovipositor is
a tube-like organ used by some
animals, especially insects, for the laying of eggs. In insects, an ovipositor consists of a maximum of three pairs of appendages.
What is ovipositor made of?
An ovipositor is a tube shaped organ used by insects and most fish to deposit eggs. The morphology of the ovipositor varies from species to species. It may be long, short, wide or needle thin; in insects it is usually composed of
the hardened sclerites of the exoskeleton
.
Do male wasps sting?
Only female bees and wasps can sting.
Males do not have the
egg-laying ovipositor that is modified into a stinger on female insects. Unlike bees, these female wasps have the ability to sting a target multiple times because their stinger does not fall off after use.
Do spiders have an ovipositor?
A more complicated form of epigyne is found in spiders of the genus Araneus, where there is developed an appendage which is usually soft and flexible, and which is termed the scape or ovipositor.
What does Oviparous mean in animals?
:
producing eggs that develop and hatch outside the maternal body
also : involving the production of such eggs.
What Is The ovipositor on a female grasshopper used for?
The ovipositor appendages of acridid insects (grasshoppers and locusts) consist of two pairs of shovel-shaped valves that are used
to dig a deep chamber in the ground for egg burial, to manipulate the eggs, and to assist in capping the egg-pod with froth
.
Do grasshoppers breathe oxygen?
Grasshoppers don’t have lungs like we do, but
instead take in oxygen
and give off carbon dioxide through air-filled tubes running throughout their body.
Are grasshoppers female?
Female grasshoppers are larger than the males
, and have sharp points at the end of their abdomen that they to help lay eggs underground. Male grasshoppers sometimes have special structures on their wings that they can rub their hind legs on or rub together to make sounds.
What is the largest order of insects?
The largest numbers of described species in the U.S. fall into four insect Orders:
Coleoptera
(beetles) at 23,700, Diptera (flies) at 19,600, Hymenoptera (ants, bees, wasps) at 17,500, and Lepidoptera (moths and butterflies) at 11,500.
What body features do all insects have in common?
- Insects have what we call an exoskeleton or a hard, shell-like covering on the outside of its body.
- Insects have three main body parts: head, thorax, and abdomen.
- Insects have a pair of antennae on top of their heads.
- Insects have three pairs of legs.
