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The ovipositor is a tube-like
organ Organ and organs may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a group of tissues organized to serve a common function * Organ system, a collection of organs that function together to carry out specific functions within the body. Musical instruments ...
used by some
animal Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the Biology, biological Kingdom (biology), kingdom Animalia (). With few exceptions, animals heterotroph, consume organic material, Cellular respiration#Aerobic respiration, breathe oxygen, ...
s, especially
insect Insects (from Latin ') are Hexapoda, hexapod invertebrates of the class (biology), class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (Insect morphology#Head, head, ...
s, for the laying of
eggs An egg is an organic vessel in which an embryo begins to develop. Egg, EGG or eggs may also refer to: Biology * Egg cell, the female reproductive cell (gamete) in oogamous organisms Food * Eggs as food Places * Egg, Austria * Egg, Switzerland ...
. In insects, an ovipositor consists of a maximum of three pairs of appendages. The details and morphology of the ovipositor vary, but typically its form is adapted to functions such as preparing a place for the egg, transmitting the egg, and then placing it properly. For most insects, the organ is used merely to attach the egg to some surface, but for many
parasitic Parasitism is a close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives (at least some of the time) on or inside another organism, the host, causing it some harm, and is adapted structurally to this way of life. The ent ...
species (primarily in
wasp A wasp is any insect of the narrow-waisted suborder Apocrita of the order Hymenoptera which is neither a bee nor an ant; this excludes the broad-waisted sawflies (Symphyta), which look somewhat like wasps, but are in a separate suborder ...
s and other
Hymenoptera Hymenoptera is a large order of insects, comprising the sawflies, wasps, bees, and ants. Over 150,000 living species of Hymenoptera have been described, in addition to over 2,000 extinct ones. Many of the species are parasitic. Females typi ...
), it is a piercing organ as well. Some ovipositors only retract partly when not in use, and the basal part that sticks out is known as the scape, or more specifically oviscape, the word ''scape'' deriving from the Latin word , meaning "stalk" or "shaft".


In insects

Grasshopper Grasshoppers are a group of insects belonging to the suborder Caelifera. They are amongst what are possibly the most ancient living groups of chewing herbivorous insects, dating back to the early Triassic around 250 million years ago. Grassh ...
s use their ovipositors to force a burrow into the earth to receive the eggs.
Cicada The cicadas () are a superfamily, the Cicadoidea, of insects in the order Hemiptera (true bugs). They are in the suborder Auchenorrhyncha, along with smaller jumping bugs such as leafhoppers and froghoppers. The superfamily is divided into two ...
s pierce the
wood Wood is a structural tissue/material found as xylem in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulosic fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin t ...
of twigs with their ovipositors to insert the eggs.
Sawflies Sawflies are wasp-like insects that are in the suborder Symphyta within the order Hymenoptera, alongside ants, bees, and wasps. The common name comes from the saw-like appearance of the ovipositor, which the females use to cut into the plant ...
slit the tissues of
plant Plants are the eukaryotes that form the Kingdom (biology), kingdom Plantae; they are predominantly Photosynthesis, photosynthetic. This means that they obtain their energy from sunlight, using chloroplasts derived from endosymbiosis with c ...
s by means of the ovipositor and so do some species of long-horned grasshoppers. In the ichneumon wasp genus ''
Megarhyssa ''Megarhyssa'', also known as giant ichneumonid wasps, giant ichneumons, or stump stabbers, is a genus of large ichneumon wasps, with some species known for having the longest ovipositors of any insects. They are idiobiont ectoparasitoids of th ...
'', the females have a slender ovipositor (terebra) several inches long that is used to drill into the wood of
tree trunks Trunks are the stems of woody plants and the main structural element of trees. The woody part of the trunk consists of dead but structurally significant heartwood and living sapwood, which is used for nutrient storage and transport. Separatin ...
. These wasps are parasitic in the
larva A larva (; : larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into their next life stage. Animals with indirect development such as insects, some arachnids, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase ...
l stage on the larvae of
horntail Horntails or wood wasps are any of the 150 non-social species of the hymenopteran family Siricidae, a type of xylophagous, wood-eating sawfly. The common name "horntail" derives from the stout, spine-like structure at the end of the adult's abdom ...
wasps, hence the egg must be deposited directly into the host's body as it is feeding. The ovipositors of ''Megarhyssa'' are among the longest egg-laying organs (relative to body size) known. The
stinger A stinger (or sting) is a sharp organ found in various animals (typically insects and other arthropods) capable of injecting venom, usually by piercing the epidermis of another animal. An insect sting is complicated by its introduction of ve ...
s of the
Aculeata Aculeata is an infraorder of Hymenoptera containing ants, bees, and stinging wasps. The name is a reference to the defining feature of the group, which is the modification of the ovipositor into a stinger. However, many members of the group cann ...
(wasps, hornets, bees, and ants) are ovipositors, highly modified and with associated
venom Venom or zootoxin is a type of toxin produced by an animal that is actively delivered through a wound by means of a bite, sting, or similar action. The toxin is delivered through a specially evolved ''venom apparatus'', such as fangs or a sti ...
gland A gland is a Cell (biology), cell or an Organ (biology), organ in an animal's body that produces and secretes different substances that the organism needs, either into the bloodstream or into a body cavity or outer surface. A gland may also funct ...
s. They are used to paralyze prey, or as defensive weapons. The penetrating sting plus venom allows the wasp to lay eggs with less risk of injury from the host. In some cases, the injection also introduces virus particles that suppress the host's immune system and prevent it from destroying the eggs. However, in virtually all stinging
Hymenoptera Hymenoptera is a large order of insects, comprising the sawflies, wasps, bees, and ants. Over 150,000 living species of Hymenoptera have been described, in addition to over 2,000 extinct ones. Many of the species are parasitic. Females typi ...
, the ovipositor is no longer used for egg-laying. An exception is the family
Chrysididae Commonly known as cuckoo wasps or emerald wasps, the hymenopteran family Chrysididae is a very large cosmopolitan group (over 3000 described species) of parasitoid or kleptoparasitic wasps, often highly sculptured, with brilliant metallic colors ...
, members of the Hymenoptera, in which species such as ''
Chrysis ignita ''Chrysis ignita'' is a species of cuckoo wasp. It is one of a group of species which are difficult to separate and which may be referred to as ruby-tailed wasps. Cuckoo wasps are parasitoids and kleptoparasites, laying their eggs in the nest ...
'' have reduced stinging apparatus and a functional ovipositor.
Fig wasp Fig wasps are wasps of the superfamily Chalcidoidea which spend their larval stage inside fig syconia. Some are pollinators but others simply feed off the plant. The non-pollinators belong to several groups within the superfamily Chalcidoidea, ...
ovipositors have specialized serrated teeth to penetrate fruits, but
gall wasp Gall wasps, also traditionally called gallflies, are hymenopterans of the family Cynipidae in the wasp superfamily Cynipoidea. Their common name comes from the galls they induce on plants for larval development. About 1,300 species of this gene ...
s have either uniform teeth or no teeth on their ovipositors, meaning the morphology of the organ is related to the life history. Members of the
Diptera Flies are insects of the order Diptera, the name being derived from the Greek δι- ''di-'' "two", and πτερόν ''pteron'' "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwings having evolved into advance ...
n (fly) families
Tephritidae The Tephritidae are one of two fly families referred to as fruit flies, the other family being the Drosophilidae. The family Tephritidae does not include the biological model organisms of the genus '' Drosophila'' (in the family Drosophilidae ...
and
Pyrgotidae The Pyrgotidae are an unusual family of flies (Diptera), one of only two families of Cyclorrhapha that lack ocelli. Most species are "picture-winged" (i.e., have patterns of bands or spots on the wings), as is typical among the Tephritoidea, but ...
have well-developed ovipositors that are partly retracted when not in use, with the part that sticks out being the oviscape.
Oestridae Botflies, also known as warble flies, heel flies, and gadflies, are flies of the family Oestridae. Their larvae are internal parasites of mammals, some species growing in the host's flesh and others within the gut. ''Dermatobia hominis'' is t ...
, another family within Diptera, often have short hairy ovipositors, the species ''
Cuterebra fontinella ''Cuterebra'', or rodent bots, is a genus of Botfly, bot flies that attack rodents and similar animals. Etymology The genus name ''Cuterebra'' is a blend of the Latin words ''cutis'' 'skin' and ''terebra'' 'borer' with apparent shortening of exp ...
'' has one of the shortest within the family. Ovipositors exist not only in winged insects, but also in
Apterygota The name Apterygota is sometimes applied to a former Subclass (biology), subclass of small, agile insects, distinguished from other insects by their lack of wings in the present and in their evolutionary history; notable examples are the silverfis ...
, where the ovipositor has an additional function in gathering the spermatophore during mating. Little is known about the egg-laying habits of these insects in the wild.


In fish

Female bitterlings in the genus ''
Rhodeus ''Rhodeus'' is a genus of freshwater ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Acheilognathidae, the bitterlings. The scientific name is derived from the Greek word ', meaning "rose". Most species in the genus are restricted to Asia, but two sp ...
'' have an ovipositor in the form of a tubular extension of the
genital A sex organ, also known as a reproductive organ, is a part of an organism that is involved in sexual reproduction. Sex organs constitute the primary sex characteristics of an organism. Sex organs are responsible for producing and transporting ...
orifice. During breeding season, they use it when depositing eggs in the mantle cavity of freshwater
mussel Mussel () is the common name used for members of several families of bivalve molluscs, from saltwater and Freshwater bivalve, freshwater habitats. These groups have in common a shell whose outline is elongated and asymmetrical compared with other ...
s, where their eggs develop in reasonable security.
Seahorse A seahorse (also written ''sea-horse'' and ''sea horse'') is any of 46 species of small marine Osteichthyes, bony fish in the genus ''Hippocampus''. The genus name comes from the Ancient Greek (), itself from () meaning "horse" and () meanin ...
s have an ovipositor for introducing eggs into the brood pouch of the male, who carries them until it is time to release the fry into a suitable situation in the open water.


In amphibians

The marbled newt, or ''Triturus marmoratus,'' females participate in parental investment by ovipositing their eggs. They carefully wrap them in aquatic leaves as a form of protection, scattering them throughout a pond to avoid predation. Females are not able to breathe during the oviposition process; therefore, the benefit to wrapping the eggs outweigh the cost of holding their breath.


Images

File:Urophora.cardui.female.jpg, A female fly in the family
Tephritidae The Tephritidae are one of two fly families referred to as fruit flies, the other family being the Drosophilidae. The family Tephritidae does not include the biological model organisms of the genus '' Drosophila'' (in the family Drosophilidae ...
, with the ovipositor retracted and only the scape showing. File:Anastrepha ludens 1322089.jpg, Ovipositing Mexican fruit flies showing the scapes of the extended ovipositors. File:Megarhyssa.jpg, Female ''
Megarhyssa ''Megarhyssa'', also known as giant ichneumonid wasps, giant ichneumons, or stump stabbers, is a genus of large ichneumon wasps, with some species known for having the longest ovipositors of any insects. They are idiobiont ectoparasitoids of th ...
'' laying eggs with her ovipositor. File:Dolichomitus-pjt1.jpg, ''
Dolichomitus ''Dolichomitus'' is a genus of ichneumon wasps in the family Ichneumonidae. There are at least 70 described species in ''Dolichomitus''. The name is derived from the Greek dolicho, meaning long or narrow, and the Greek mitus, meaning a thread. ...
sp.'' laying eggs into a nest of ''
Osmia Mason bee is a name now commonly used for species of bees in the genus ''Osmia'', of the family Megachilidae. Mason bees are named for their habit of using mud or other "masonry" products in constructing their nests, which are made in naturally o ...
sp.''. File:Leucospis dorsigera-pjt 02.jpg, ''
Leucospis dorsigera ''Leucospis dorsigera'' is a species of wasp belonging to the family Leucospidae. Distribution and habitat This widely distributed species occurs from Eastern Russia through Europe (Austria, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hungary, Ita ...
'' laying eggs into a nest of ''
Osmia Mason bee is a name now commonly used for species of bees in the genus ''Osmia'', of the family Megachilidae. Mason bees are named for their habit of using mud or other "masonry" products in constructing their nests, which are made in naturally o ...
sp.''. File:Grön vårtbitare - (Tettigonia viridissima) - Ystad-2024.jpg, A young female of great green bush-cricket (Tettigonia viridissima) the ovipositor is clearly visible.


References

Cope, T., & Fox, R. (2002). “Oviposition Behavior of Callosobruchus maculatus on Various Legume Types.” Journal of Agricultural Entomology


External links

* * {{Wiktionary-inline Animal reproductive system Fish anatomy Insect anatomy