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You might think an insect with an extra pointy derriere would pack a fearsome sting, but you’d be wrong. The extended rear appendage of the crown-of-thorns wasp is not a stinger but an egg-laying organ, the ovipositor, used to reach beetle grubs chewing through the wood below.
Megischus bicolor, a crown-of-thorns wasp in the family Stephanidae, photographed in Illinois, USA.
You might think an insect with an extra pointy derriere would pack a fearsome sting, but you'd be wrong. The extended rear appendage of the crown-of-thorns wasp is not a stinger but an egg-laying organ, the ovipositor, used to reach beetle grubs chewing through the wood below. Young wasps develop as ectoparasites of beetles in their burrows. Should this wasp take a stab at you, you'd feel as though tickled by a toothpick. Nothing more.
Why is this called a crown-of-thorns wasp? Have look at the head:
The function of the crown is not known, but it might help young wasps emerge from the beetle burrows.
Like the vast majority of wasps, Megischus is not aggressive. In fact, a challenge I faced photographing these delicate insects was their tendency to flee when the camera approached.
The views expressed are those of the author(s) and are not necessarily those of Scientific American.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR(S)
Alex Wild
Alex Wild is Curator of Entomology at the University of Texas at Austin, where he studies the evolutionary history of ants. In 2003 he founded a photography business as an aesthetic complement to his scientific work, and his natural history photographs appear in numerous museums, books and media outlets.
Wasps Are Our Friends: Part IIIYou might think an insect with an extra pointy derriere would pack a fearsome sting, but you’d be wrong. The extended rear appendage of the crown-of-thorns wasp is not a stinger but an egg-laying organ, the ovipositor, used to reach beetle grubs chewing through the wood below.
