Skip to content

gasteruptiid wasp flying behavior

As a gasteruptiid wasp seeks out larvae of solitary and soil-nesting bees to parasitize, she engages in a vertical and horizontal swaying behavior in flight. Research on this behavior and the physical characteristics of gasteruptiids’ enlarged lower legs suggests that fat body in the leg adjacent to the wasp’s subgenual organ (used to detect minute vibrations) is used to amplify vibrational signals, and the leg swaying “could be a way to tune into the source of these vibrational signals through the air.” (Video originally published supplementary to Mikó et al 2019, Insect Systematics and Diversity)

Leave a Reply (Comments subject to review by site moderator and will not publish until approved.)

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.