I’ve just joined István Mikó and Carolyn Trietsch on the Ceraphronoidea revision project that is underway here at the Frost. I am delving into Dendrocerus, a genus in the family Megaspilidae. I’ve been looking at several specimens of Dendrocerus mexicali that we have, and I am intrigued by the male antennae.
What fascinates me are the bases of the branches. Dessart describes them as moveable, but insects only have muscles in the two most basal sclerites of their antennae. The flagellomeres never have muscles. So, how could they move? Could it be hydrostatic pressure?
After making some images of the bases of the branches it does not look like the branch articulates with the base or rest of the antenna (there are no “seams”). I think that the area that appears wrinkly could be highly flexible in living specimens, and if that is the case, then we can expect to find resilin. This protein is common in insects and allows for flexible cuticle. Keep your eyes open for a follow-up blog after I investigate!
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