File: <ampul1.ima.htm> [For educational purposes only] Terminology Glossary <Principal Natural Enemy Groups > <Citations>

Immature Stages of Ampulicinae

Detailed information on immature stages of Sphecidae (Ampulicinae) is being acquired. However, Clausen (1940), considering this subfamily as a separate family Ampulicidae, noted that they were parasitoids of cockroaches. The egg hatches in 1-2 days after having been placed directly on the prey. Larval feeding is completed in 1-5 days. In Ampulex assimilis Kohl, Hingston (1925) described its attack on the cockroach Shelfordella tartara Sauss., in India. The egg is fastened to the femur of one leg. Initial feeding occurs at a puncture in the femur, and the partly grown larva enters the body of the roach and feeds for some time as an internal parasite, the thoracic tissues being consumed first. The body contents, but not the exoskeleton, are consumed and the cocoon is spun within the abdomen of the host.

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