Parasitism is a highly specialized lifestyle adopted by various phyla. We can find examples of parasites in many different groups, especially in the Insecta phylum. Insects in general are a highly diverse group. In the group Hymenoptera there are multiple species of different parasitoids that possess their own sub-group spread across many super-families of Hymenoptera (Gauld, Bolton, 1988). The large number of species and the amount of diversity we see is incredible. Speciation is without a doubt present, however the type and exact processes involved with this groups’ diversity has only been speculated. The following essay discusses the various possibilities for speciation in this group and how the particular behavior of this group has played …show more content…
The proctodeum is not connected to the mid gut at the larval stage so as not to void feces into host (Gauld, Bolton, 1988). Most parasitoid wasp have very specific host interactions directly relative to the target host species. Parasitoid wasps differ from true parasites as they typically always kill their host. They spend a considerable amount of their life cycle in the single host. It has even been observed that many species targeting larva hosts will emerge from their egg very soon after being laid but wait for the host to reach a further stage in its life cycle before starting to feed off the host (Quicke, 1997, Sagarra, Vincent, 1999). This is just an example of the how particular this group has become in the category of ‘host predation’. Although the most common viewed type of host predation where a female wasp deliberately seeks out a particular host, paralyses it and oviposits its eggs can be considered the most unspecified type among parasitoids. The more specified types in this group would be for hosts that are concealed in wood, leaves or have someway made simple ovipositing impossible or highly difficult. i.e Orussidae practice vibrations to locate their target host in wood(Vilhelmsen, et