COMPARATIVE MORPHOLOGY OF THE OVIPOSITOR OF SOME PARASITIC HYMENOPTERA IN RELATION TO CHARACTERISTICS OF THEIR HOSTS

Abstract

Abstract Although the structure of the ovipositor of parasitic Hymenoptera is largely uniform, interspecific variation in its morphology can be observed. Such variability may be related to the diversity of hosts attacked. To verify such an hypothesis, we compared, using correspondence analysis, the morphological characteristics of the ovipositors of 20 species in three categories: ( i ) species belonging to the same taxonomic unit and attacking the same type of host, ( ii ) species belonging to the same taxonomic unit but attacking different types of host, and ( iii ) species belonging to different taxonomic units but attacking the same type of host. Results show that variability in some morphological traits of the ovipositor can be related to host characteristics. Adaptive convergence in morphological variations observed between species is discussed.