Ichneumon wasps

Community and Forum → Insects biology and faunistics → Ichneumon wasps

Nevada, 05.03.2011 16:07

Dear entomologists, please tell me what the most accurate name is given to spider-parasitizing horsemen. It is on the spiders themselves, and not on their cocoons.

Comments

Likes: 3

19.03.2011 20:04, IchMan

This border is very difficult to draw. I'm getting more and more convinced that the stunners should also be considered parasites. Since + - and paralyzed prey is part of the larva's habitat. Yes, and look. In riders, irreversible paralysis of the host is not uncommon. And some scolias do not make any nests, leave their paralyzed prey where they found it. And a whole transition in behavior from them to some kind of bembix.

But the border is always difficult to draw, and no one is insured that it will be drawn correctly

. In general, riders, strictly speaking, can not be considered parasites – they eventually lead to the death of the host irreversibly, which is biologically not very appropriate, because it undermines the host population. In the West, there is a special term for them "parasitoids", which, in my opinion, more accurately reflects the essence of their life strategy. A classic example of parasitism is the bovine tapeworm, or some other helminth that is "imprisoned" precisely for existence in a different environment – the host's body, where in principle it does not significantly disrupt its homeostasis, while the rider larva (s) slowly but surely leads its host to a fatal outcome.
As for the fact that stun guns are parasites, let me disagree with you. Among the webs, it is really possible to trace this series of parasitism formation at the larval stage, from simple paralysis of the victim and laying eggs next to or directly on it, to first idiobiosis, when after paralysis the host stops its further development and is just a piece of protoplasm-consider it larval food (characteristic of ectoparasitoids). This group is characterized by irreversible paralysis. In a more advanced variant – koinobiosis, after infection, the host continues to develop further, feed, for example, pupation takes place. Among koinobionts, there are both ectoparasitoids and endoparasitoids that live in a fundamentally different environment – inside the host's body. In my opinion, it is impossible to row all riders under one comb, their relationship at the larval stage with the environment is quite different. In the latter case, the host is something like a "zombie", often fulfilling the parasite's commands given at the biochemical level, accelerating or slowing down development, changing typical behavior. That is, in this case, not just adaptation to certain conditions is already taking place, but the directed formation of the larva's habitat for the needs of the parasitoid with the development of specialized physiological mechanisms.

Likes: 5

19.03.2011 20:25, IchMan

Can't you get one copy of this Polysphinctini? In any form, you can use it dry. It is possible for financial gratitude. Very, very necessary... Simply vital

Since it's off-season (if you're not far away from Russia), it's hard to find them alive right now. What a task you've set for yourself!
In dried form (on pins or cotton wool), or in alcohol, riders can be found in different collectors in their "bins". There are very few specialists in the group, and omnivorous collectors often have no idea what they have caught and stored. These beetles are not large in size (rarely more than 1 cm), so it is unlikely that someone collects them purposefully. Some polysphinctin species are quite common in collections, especially from Malaise traps.