Stylops
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Stylops | |
|---|---|
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| Stylops melittae male; note the halteres in front of the wings | |
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| Stylops melittae females protruding from the abdomen of an Andrenid bee | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Strepsiptera |
| Family: | Stylopidae |
| Genus: | Stylops Kirby, 1802 |
Stylops[1] is a genus of obligately endoparasitic insects in the family Stylopidae. Hosts are typically members of the order Hymenoptera.
The name "stylops", used without a capital "s", refers as a common name to any member of the order Strepsiptera, and not only the genus Stylops.[2]
Males are 2–3 mm long and black with white wings. Females have no limbs and are only seen from their head and thorax poking out of the host bee. Larvae are triungulin.[3]
Life cycle
Stylops larvae emerge from their host bee while the host gathers pollen from flowers. The larvae then attach to other bees in order to be carried back to the nest. At the nest, the Stylops larvae enter the bodies of bee larvae and develop along with their host. Adult males leave their hosts to mate with females, who remain inside their host and hatch their eggs there.[3]
