Chrysis ignita
| Chrysis ignita | |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Chrysididae |
| Genus: | Chrysis |
| Species: | C. ignita |
| Binomial name | |
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Chrysis ignita Linnaeus, 1758 |
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Chrysis ignita, also known as the ruby-tailed wasp, is a species of cuckoo wasps. Cuckoo wasps are kleptoparasites – they lay their eggs in the nests of other wasp species and their young consume the eggs or larva of the host wasp for sustenance. These wasps have a number of adaptions which have evolved to equip them for their life cycle. Chrysis ignita parasitize mason bees in particular. Ruby-tailed wasps have metallic, armored bodies, and can roll up into balls to protect themselves from harm when infiltrating the nests of host bees and wasps. Unlike most other Hymenopterans, cuckoo wasps cannot sting. Chrysis ignita is found across the European continent.
Chrysis ignita is a chrysidid wasp with a typical colorful, metallic exoskeleton; the stinger is reduced in size and used as an ovipositor.
Chrysidids differ from other Aculeate wasps (stinging Hymenoptera) in their reduction of the number of external body segments, the presence of 11 antennal articles, and wing veins enclosing 5 cells. Chrysis ignita is the most common of a group of very similar ruby-tailed wasps. The head and thorax range from a shiny green to blue, sometimes layered with a golden sheen. The abdomen, a deep ruby color, is its most distinctive feature. The exoskeleton sculpture appears textured, like a golf ball, with dimples, projections, crests, and holes ranging from micrometric to millimetric in size.
Chrysis ignita can be found throughout England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland, excluding the Orkney and Shetland Islands. Sightings have also been documented on the Isle of Man, Isle of Wight, the isles of Scilly, and the Channel Islands. Other experts record that Chrysis ignita can be found throughout the Palaearctic, spanning Europe, Britain, Germany, Canaries, Italy, Algeria, URSS, and Japan. Their habitats overlap with the host wasps they parasitize, and thus they can be found near walls, quarries, bare cliff faces, and around dead wood in sunny places. Since Chrysidids are solitary wasps whose lives are linked to and dependent on their hosts, they live in strict microhabitats. These microhabitats can be further categorized as places of rest and of parasitic activity. The environments in which they are found facilitate their identification and are often characterized by flowers, arid and sandy soil, old wood exposed to sunlight, pebbles, and aphid infested plants.
Chrysidids are parasitoids, meaning that their parasitic activity, in most cases, kills their hosts. Some species are also cleptoparasites, meaning that they also use the host species’ food supplies as resources to sustain themselves. Chrysis ignita is both a parasite and a cleptoparasite. The female wasp possesses a long, telescopic ovipositor, which evolved from the reduction of the Hymenopteran stinging apparatus. It uses this appendage to deposit its eggs inside the nest of the host wasp. The female ruby-tailed wasp will hide nearby, waiting for an ideal host. She will look for wasps that are in the process of digging burrows or dragging prey or bringing food back to their nests. She will then observe the nest until the host leaves or hitch a ride on the prey to slip in.
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Wikipedia