I have never seen a Stylops before and was hardly even aware of the entire order of insects until seeing some photos of Stylops protruding from the abdomens of bees last year.
Elenchus tenuicornis - In the process of trying to identify a Delphacid leafhopper (probably Javesella pellucida) I noticed a strange growth protruding from the side of its abdomen, but didn't immediately realise the significance of this. I cleared the abdomen in KOH in order to examine the leafhopper's genitalia in order to establish its identity, but the genital capsule appeared to be empty. At this point I noticed a strange face-like pattern on the thing sticking out and realised that it was another organism that had presumably parasitised the leafhopper. Apart from a short casing with a rounded front bearing the face, there didn't seem to be any surviving structure to this, but after some investigation I eventually realised that it resembled a female Stylops. I have been unable to find a great deal of information about Stylops on the internet, especially in a British context, but I found something that suggested that the only Stylops that parasitise Delphacidae are those in the family Elenchidae. The National Biodiversity Atlas only details a single species within this family, Elechus tenuicornis, so I am tentatively concluding that this must be the identity of this stylops. Correction or confirmation would be most welcome! The leafhopper had been retained from the meadows on 24th July 2019.
presumed Elenchus tenuicornis emerging from Delphacid leafhopper (probably Javesella pellucidula), North Elmham, 24th July 2019
No comments:
Post a Comment