In one species of mason wasp, “pseudo stings” on males’ genitals let them mimic females and scare predators
Males of one wasp species use their genitals as an antipredator defense, mimicking females and jabbing potential attackers with spines mounted on their reproductive organs, a new study has found.
The finding highlights “the significance of male genitalia as an antipredator defense” and opens a new perspective for “understanding the ecological role of male genitalia in animals,” says Kobe University insect ecologist Shinji Sugiura, lead author of the study, which was published in Current Biology.
Justin Schmidt, a stinging insect expert at the Southwestern Biological Institute and author of the book The Sting of the Wild, says that the pseudo stinging probably contributed to the experimental results but that the frogs’ somewhat small size, relative to the wasps, and the size difference between male wasps and naturally larger females were also likely factors.
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