An extraordinary discovery has emerged revealing an extinct wasp preserved in amber, which may have utilized its unique abdomen to grasp other insects, akin to a Venus flytrap, prior to laying its eggs on them.
“It’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen before. It’s unlike any wasp or any other insect that is known today,” stated a researcher from the Natural History Museum of Denmark.
This remarkable specimen has been named Sirenobethylus charybdis, after Charybdis, a mythical sea monster from Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey. This ancient insect thrived nearly 99 million years ago during the Cretaceous period.
Employing micro-CT scanning, an advanced X-ray imaging technique, researchers examined 16 female wasps encased in amber discovered in the Kachin region of Myanmar.
Each of the wasps displayed three flaps in their abdomens, forming a grasping structure. The preservation of these structures in various positions—some open and others closed—indicates that it functioned as a movable, grasping device when the insects were alive.
“It was very exciting, but it was also a challenge, because how can you explain how this animal worked when you have nothing like it today?” the researcher noted.
To uncover its functionality, the team compared characteristics of both living and extinct wasps. Their analysis revealed that the closest relatives to the amber-preserved wasps were modern-day parasitoid species belonging to the superfamily Chrysidoidea, which include cuckoo wasps whose larvae parasitize their hosts, ultimately leading to the hosts’ demise.
The behavior of S. charybdis is thought to hinge on the lower flap of its trap-like abdomen, which may have mimicked the action of a Venus flytrap. The researcher explained, “There are fan-like elongate trigger hairs, likely sensory hairs, extending from this lower flap. If this was resting on the surface and a host approached, it would trigger these hairs, prompting the wasp to quickly launch backward to capture the viable host.”
It is suggested that S. charybdis lay in ambush with its trap open for flying insects or jumping nymphs, quickly snapping it shut to secure a host on which to lay its eggs.
“This is a truly unique discovery,” remarked a researcher from the University of Rennes in France. “What is extraordinary is that the abdomen of Sirenobethylus charybdis presents a novel solution to a common challenge faced by parasitoid insects: how to immobilize a host while laying eggs.”
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