Cicada ovipositor

[Tonikon]

Hi everyone,
this is not the spearhead of a proud Maasai warrior, but the ovipositor of a small Cicada.
Using this toothed spearhead, the female cicada cuts a slit in woody tissue of a tree or shrub and provide a conduit for eggs to move from the reproductive tract into the wound of the branch.
The evolutionary roads sometimes are incredible!
Toni

[iconoclastica]

reminds me of this:

[Tonikon]

... and it works like an electric jigsaw, driven by specific muscles ...

[rjlittlefield]

That looks exactly like the mechanism used by bee & wasp stingers to penetrate hide. It may be the same anatomy, just tweaked a little.

--Rik

[Tonikon]

That looks exactly like the mechanism used by bee & wasp stingers to penetrate hide. It may be the same anatomy, just tweaked a little.

--Rik

Yes, Rik..this is a textbook case of convergent evolution!

[Sumguy01]

Interesting.
Thanks for sharing.

[MarkSturtevant]

That is really cool! Also the ovipositor of giant Ichneumon wasps which they use to drill very deep in wood.
Stingers evolved from ovipositors, so that their serrations are a 'primitive' trait.

[JSkory]

Nice picture and very interesting info.

[Tonikon]

Recent research has also shown that the apex of the Cicada ovipositor is strongly reinforced by numerous inorganic elements (P, Ca, Si, Mg, Na, Fe, Zn, Mn and others) ... an evolutive solution that rivals with best chromium-vanadium tools!!!

[abpho]

Beautiful image Tonikon.

[Tonikon]

Thank you for your appreciation!