Fig. 1.

Ovipositor apparatus of a parasitic wasp. (A) Parasitic wasp Diachasmimorpha longicaudata. The dotted line roughly indicates the location of the transverse section through the ovipositor shown in panel B and the rectangle roughly indicates the location of the ovipositor apparatus shown in panel C. (B) A schematic cross‐section of the ovipositor of D. longicaudata (at dashed line in A). Black dashed circles indicate the interlocking olistheter mechanism. Asterisk indicates the egg canal. 'Sheath' refers to sheaths surrounding the ovipositor. (C) Schematic representation of the left side of the apocritan ovipositor apparatus (based on Fergusson, 1988). All elements have a mirror image on the right side, apart from the second valvula (2nd vlv), which is a single bilateral symmetric element located in the median. The second valvifer (2nd vlf) consists of an anterior horn and a posterior rectangular part. It is connected to the 2nd vlv. The first valvifer (1st vlf) is continuous with the first valvula (1st vlv) via a ramus. The 1st vlf hinges on the 2nd vlf at hinge h1 and with the ninth abdominal tergite (T9) at h2. The external ovipositor can rotate in the medial plane around h3. [Colour figure can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com]