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. References: Please refer to <biology.ref.htm>,
[Additional references may be found at: MELVYL Library ] |