| Stylops melittae | |
|---|---|
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| Male | |
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| Female Stylops sp. in hindparts of Andrena vaga | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Strepsiptera |
| Family: | Stylopidae |
| Genus: | Stylops |
| Species: | S. melittae |
| Binomial name | |
| Stylops melittae | |
| Synonyms | |
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Stylops melittae is a species of the order Strepsiptera of flying insects, that parasitize various species of sand bees (Andrena). [2]
The female Stylops melittae gives birth to a large number of motile primary larvae, that are strewn upon blossoms. From there they can be delivered along with the pollen at the nest construction of the sand bees for which the species is specialized. In the nest construction the primary larvae penetrate into the host larvae and molt into exclusively endoparasitic secondary larvae. These roam about feeding in the host, and after a few further moltings establish themselves in the abdomen, and with their anterior portion break through between two abdominal segments of the host's skin, where they pupate. The exit point lays mostly between the 4th and 5th, more rarely between the 3rd and 4th, abdominal segment.
There are substantially more females (77–92%) than males (2–23%). [2] [3] [4] The females remain all their lives in this puparium where they will be visited by the males for the purpose of copulation. Therefore, the females release a pheromone (3,5,9-trimethyldodecanal) produced by cephalothoracic gland and attract the males. [5]
Stylops melittae can emerge in two generations, but most emerge in just one generation, so that stylops-infested sand bees are encountered mostly just in the early months of the year March through May.
Stylops melittae primarily parasitizes species of sand bees that use the blossoms of multiple plants (that is, those that are polylectic); sand bee species specialized for blossoms of a single or few plant species, are more rarely affected. This distribution regarding host specificity would not be expected.
Stylops melittae has a markedly variable appearance. The proportions of the cephalothorax of the female have a great range of variability and consequently at times sequences of apparently host-specific species have been described, that have since been subsumed under single species.
Female sand bees become parasitized far more often than males.
Stylops-parasitized female sand bees are sterile and express themselves in behavior and appearance rather like their male counterparts of the species. The pollen gathering apparatus is reduced, the abdomen is flatter, and also the coloration is reminiscent of male individuals. Furthermore the stylops-parasitized female bees leave the maternal nest a few days earlier than do uninfested female individuals, similarly as do healthy male individuals. The earlier flight of the infested females gives the parasite more time for the development of the primary larvae. Stylops-parasitized females are no longer active after they have dug out their nest, while healthy females then fly out to provide for their offspring.
The less often infested male sand bees are by their appearance less affected, but are rather reminiscent of the female animals.
William Kirby was responsible for classifying the Strepsiptera as a separate order of insects. On the foundation of the Entomological Society of London in 1833 William Kirby was made Honorary Life President and Stylops melittae (then known as Stylops kirbyi) was adopted as the society’s symbol. The seal was first used for a letter by the society to William Kirby, which was signed by the president and thirty members in 1836 to thank him for presenting the society with a cabinet containing his entire insect collection. The society's badge has remained almost unchanged since its first use. [6] [7]
The Strepsiptera are an order of insects with eleven extant families that include about 600 described species. They are endoparasites of other insects, such as bees, wasps, leafhoppers, silverfish, and cockroaches. Females of most species never emerge from the host after entering its body, finally dying inside it. The early-stage larvae do emerge because they must find an unoccupied living host, and the short-lived males must emerge to seek a receptive female in her host. They are believed to be most closely related to beetles, from which they diverged 300–350 million years ago, but do not appear in the fossil record until the mid-Cretaceous around 100 million years ago.
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Nomadinae is a subfamily of bees in the family Apidae. They are known commonly as cuckoo bees.
Stylopidae is a family of twisted-winged insects in the order Strepsiptera. There are about 15 genera and more than 330 described species in Stylopidae.
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Philanthus gibbosus, the hump-backed beewolf, is a species of bee-hunting wasp and is the most common and widespread member of the genus in North America. P. gibbosus is of the order Hymenoptera and the genus Philanthus. It is native to the Midwestern United States and the western Appalachians. P. gibbosus are often observed to visit flowers and other plants in search of insect prey to feed their young. The prey that P. gibbosus catches is then coated in a layer of pollen and fed to the young wasps.
The eastern yellow jacket or eastern yellowjacket is a wasp found in eastern North America. Although most of their nests are subterranean, they are often considered a pest due to their nesting in recreational areas and buildings. This yellow jacket is a social insect, living in colonies of hundreds to thousands of individuals. Along with their subfamily, Vespinae, this species demonstrates supportive parental care for offspring, separation of reproductive and sterile castes, and overlapping generations. They aggressively defend their hives from threats and are known to inflict painful stings.
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Ammophila sabulosa, the red-banded sand wasp, is a species of the subfamily Ammophilinae of the solitary hunting wasp family Sphecidae, also called digger wasps. Found across Eurasia, the parasitoid wasp is notable for the mass provisioning behaviour of the females, hunting caterpillars mainly on sunny days, paralysing them with a sting, and burying them in a burrow with a single egg. The species is also remarkable for the extent to which females parasitise their own species, either stealing prey from nests of other females to provision their own nests, or in brood parasitism, removing the other female's egg and laying one of her own instead.
Stylops is a genus of obligately endoparasitic insects in the family Stylopidae. Hosts are typically members of the order Hymenoptera.
Bombus terricola, the yellow-banded bumblebee, is a species of bee in the genus Bombus. It is native to southern Canada and the east and midwest of the United States. It possesses complex behavioral traits, such as the ability to adapt to a queenless nest, choose which flower to visit, and regulate its temperature to fly during cold weather. It was at one time a common species, but has declined in numbers since the late 1990s, likely due to urban development and parasite infection. It is a good pollinator of wild flowers and crops such as alfalfa, potatoes, raspberries, and cranberries.
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