A tall tail

How do wasps get their eggs inside other insects? First, the female wasp must find its host insect. This task may not seem difficult when the host is large and out in the open. However, many wasps parasitize insects that live deep within plants. The hosts of the wasp featured in this video are burdock seedhead moth (Metzneria lappella) larvae.

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To detect the moth larvae feeding within burdock flower heads, the wasp (Agathis malvacearum) uses its sensitive antennae. Once a host has been located, the wasp pierces through the flower head and into the larva with its long ovipositor (from Latin, the "egg placer"). Although the ovipositor resembles a giant stinger, it is used to inject an egg rather than a painful dose of venom.  In fact, the stingers of other wasp and bee species are modified ovipositors; thus, only the females are capable of stinging.