All wasps in the super family Ceraphronoidea have transparent cuticular patches on the dorsal and ventral surfaces of the abdomen. Close to the transparent patches on the ventral surface are setiferous patches, which are patches with setae or bristles.
What do these setiferous patches do? According to Mikó and Deans (2009), the setiferous patches in Ceraphronoidea may be similar to the felt patches or felt fields in wasps of the superfamily Platygastroidea. The cuticle underneath the felt fields has pores, and Mikó et. al. (2007) have suggested that these pores may secrete substances from a gland. The bristles on the felt patches could increase the surface area for these substances to evaporate, helping to disperse them into the environment.
To find out if the setiferous patches in Ceraphronoidea were similar to the felt fields in Platygastroidea, I started looking through abdominal cross-sections of different ceraphronoids to see if I could find any pores in the cuticle.
The first sections I looked at came from a male Lagynodes sp. specimen. I was able to find setae near the front of the abdomen, but I did not see any pores in the cuticle beneath the setae.
However, as I continued through the abdomen, I did find a place where the cuticle looked slightly different. I suspect that these might be the semitransparent patches.
Next, I took a look at cross-sections from an Aphanogmus sp. specimen, and I found what could be pores in the cuticle of the abdomen. Directly underneath them, there are internal structures that could possibly be glands. Unfortunately, I am not sure if these pores are associated with the setiferous patch because I don’t see any setae in these areas.
I still have more cross-sections to look through, so there’s still a lot more work to be done. Keep checking back for more updates!
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