The ovipositor is a tube-like organ used by some animals, especially insects, for the laying of eggs. In insects, an ovipositor consists of a maximum of three pairs of appendages. The details and morphology of the ovipositor vary, but typically its form is adapted to functions such as preparing a place for the egg, transmitting the egg, and then placing it properly. For most insects, the organ is used merely to attach the egg to some surface, but for many parasitic species, it is a piercing organ as well.
Sawflies are wasp-like insects that are in the suborder Symphyta within the order Hymenoptera, alongside ants, bees, and wasps. The common name comes from the saw-like appearance of the ovipositor, which the females use to cut into the plants where they lay their eggs. The name is associated especially with the Tenthredinoidea, by far the largest superfamily in the suborder, with about 7,000 known species; in the entire suborder, there are 8,000 described species in more than 800 genera. Symphyta is paraphyletic, consisting of several basal groups within the order Hymenoptera, each one rooted inside the previous group, ending with the Apocrita which are not sawflies.
Horntail or wood wasp are any of the 150 non-social species of the hymenopteran family Siricidae, a type of wood-eating sawfly. The common name "horntail" derives from the stout, spine-like structure at the end of the adult's abdomen which is present in both sexes. The ovipositor in females is typically longer and also projects posteriorly, but it is not the source of the name. Though they are not wasps, they are sometimes called wood wasps as the appearance of some species resembles one due to mimicry. A typical adult horntail is brown, blue, or black with yellow or red parts, and may often reach up to 4 cm (1.6 in) long. The pigeon horntail can grow up to 5 cm (2.0 in) long, among the longest of all Hymenoptera.
Xiphydriidae are a family of wood wasps that includes around 150 species. They are located all over the world including North and South America, Australia, Europe, and others. Xiphydriidae larvae are wood borers in dead trees or branches of a range of trees. They are characterized as having long and skinny necks with dome-shaped heads. The oldest fossils of the group are from the mid Cretaceous.
The Orussidae or the parasitic wood wasps represent a small family of sawflies ("Symphyta"). Currently, about 93 extant and four fossil species are known. They take a key position in phylogenetic analyses of Hymenoptera, because they form the sister taxon of the megadiverse apocritan wasps, and the common ancestor of Orussidae + Apocrita evolved parasitism for the first time in course of the evolution of the Hymenoptera. They are also the only sawflies with carnivorous larvae.
The superfamily Siricoidea is an archaic group of the order Hymenoptera, consisting of six families of xylophagous sawflies. The group is well represented in early Tertiary and Mesozoic times, but a number of living taxa remain, including the family Anaxyelidae, which has recently been linked to this group. The female ovipositor is typically long and projects posteriorly, and is used to drill into wood.
Megarhyssa, also known as giant ichneumonid wasps, giant ichneumons, or stump stabbers, is a genus of large ichneumon wasps, with some species known for having the longest ovipositors of any insects. They are idiobiont endoparasitoids of the larvae of wood-boring horntail wasps. The ovipositor can be mistaken for a large stinger. This is a genus of holometabolous insects within subfamily Rhyssinae that includes 37 species and belongs to Ichneumonidae, the family of wasps with the highest biodiversity in the world.
A wasp is any insect of the narrow-waisted suborder Apocrita of the order Hymenoptera which is neither a bee nor an ant; this excludes the broad-waisted sawflies (Symphyta), which look somewhat like wasps, but are in a separate suborder. The wasps do not constitute a clade, a complete natural group with a single ancestor, as bees and ants are deeply nested within the wasps, having evolved from wasp ancestors. Wasps that are members of the clade Aculeata can sting their prey.
Xeris spectrum is a kind of horntail or wood wasp, that lives in coniferous forests. It is large wasp with a powerful ovipositor in females. Unlike other Siricid Wood wasps, Xeris spectrum does not have symbiotic fungi to aid its larvae as they burrow in the wood of fir and other conifer trees making it unique in the Siricidae. It is widespread and is found in large parts of Europe, Asia, Africa and North America.
Tremex columba, also known as the pigeon tremex or pigeon horntail, is a species of horntail that is native to eastern and western North America.
Rhyssa persuasoria, also known as the sabre wasp, is a species belonging to the family Ichneumonidae subfamily Rhyssinae. Members of this subfamily, including those of Rhyssa and the allied Megarhyssa, are also known collectively as giant ichneumonid wasps or giant ichneumons.
The sirex woodwasp is a species of horntail, native to Europe, Asia, and northern Africa. Adults vary in length from 9 to 36 mm.
Megarhyssa nortoni, also known as Norton's giant ichneumonid wasp or the western giant ichneumonid wasp, is a species of large ichneumon wasp.
Megarhyssa atrata, also known as the black giant ichneumonid wasp, is a species of large ichneumon wasp. It is known from North America, where it is found from Quebec, Michigan, Ohio and North and South Carolina to Florida.
Amylostereum is the single genus in the fungal family Amylostereaceae. The genus currently comprises four saprotrophic and parasitic species, which live off living or dead wood. The Amylostereaceae cause white rot in the wood by disintegrating the tissue component lignin. They produce crust-like, partially wavy fruit bodies on the surface of infested trees, which are similar to those produced by Stereum species.
Megarhyssa macrurus, also known as the long-tailed giant ichneumonid wasp or long-tailed giant ichneumon wasp, is a species of large ichneumon wasp. It is a parasitoid, notable for its extremely long ovipositor which it uses to deposit an egg into a tunnel in dead wood bored by its host, the larva of a similarly large species of horntail.
Urocerus is a genus of horntails in the family Siricidae. There are about eight described species in Urocerus.
Ibalia leucospoides, the knife-shaped ibalia, is a species of ibaliid wasp in the family Ibaliidae.
Urocerus japonicus, commonly known as the Japanese horntail, is a species of sawfly, native to southeastern Asia. Studies show that the dispersal distance of the female is higher than the male. The fungal species Amylostereum laevigatum had its first appearance in Japan via this sawfly.
Urocerus flavicornis, the yellow-horned horntail wasp, is a species of horntail native to North America.
